Masks and Shadows
by Kilerkki
Summary: On the surface, it's a routine bodyguard mission at an entirely unusual School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But underneath the underneath, demons are lurking...[HPNaruto crossover, cowritten with link no miko]
1. In Which Tsunade Meets An Owl

Disclaimer: We own neither _Naruto _nor _Harry Potter, _although Kilerkki would pay for an ANBU mask. Which says a lot, 'cause she's really stingy. link no miko just wants a Shikamaru plushie. She'd pay for that!

Authors' Note: Heyo. link no miko here, teamed up with the wonderful Kilerkki, who makes everything really fun and exciting! You can tell her that too, she'll blush and everything, it's awesome.

Anywho, we came up with this idea the other night because we're desperate fangirls and wanted to try our hands at making a good HP/Naruto crossover. Whether or not we did, eh, that's up to you guys, but we're having fun doing it! We tried to come up with good, legit reasons for such a massive AU project, which was rather hard, but rather rewarding at the same time.

We would also like to state that we haven't read any of the other HP/Naruto crossovers, so anything you see in here that might be in another one, well, that's just pure dumb luck. We don't steal, kthxbai.

We both did the first chapter (that was fun, let me tell you) but all alternating chapters from now on are one or the other. We'll try to keep styles similar, but you can have fun playing Guess the Writer, if you wish. Hehe.

As always, comments and criticisms are appreciated.

Masks and Shadows

Chapter One: In Which Tsunade Meets An Owl And Naruto Learns English

There were few things about being Hokage that Tsunade truly enjoyed. Getting late-night important messages full of information that could possibly spell her village's doom was not among those few things.

But it seemed to happen a freakishly large amount of the time.

Blinking blurry eyes, head lolling forward just a _teensy _bit, Tsunade poured over the document that had, strangely enough, arrived with an owl. And an ANBU. Last she knew, none of her ninja used owls as animal companions, and from the way the tiger-masked ANBU glared at the bird, she was quite sure they weren't a pair.

Sighing, she dismissed the ANBU and opened the letter. One thin eyebrow arched incredulously as she read the header.

_Tsunade-san, Godaime Hokage, Legendary Sannin_

_Hokage's Tower, Konohagakure no Sato_

_23 August 1996_

_Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster_

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

She gave the header an once-over, decided she really _didn't _want to know at 4 am, and continued to read the rest of the (thank the gods!) short letter.

_My dear Hokage, _

_I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your predecessor. He was a very good man, and someone I'd had a few contacts with. My condolences, and my best wishes for you in your new role._

_I realize how strange such a message must seem, coming from a stranger like me. However, something has recently come to my attention which I feel may impact your village. An attempted burglary at the school has not only left us with grave concerns about the safety of the students during the coming year, but has also provided us with information of a possible greater threat. It seems that, somewhere in my school, a strange beast was once imprisoned. It is possible that our enemies are attempting to gain control of this beast; fortunately they seem to know as little as we do about the creature. I must admit that my memory is not what it once was, but I do remember your predecessor, as well as a certain other Sannin, speaking of your village's dealings with a strange and powerful beast. From what little information I have been able to gather, it seems as though they might be related._

_If possible, I would like to hire a team of your finest to aid in the protection of my students and the discovery of what exactly is imprisoned within my school. I am willing to pay whatever price you may demand, and I trust in your wise judgment of such matters. A trip to England will naturally prove difficult for you, so I have taken the liberty of making the arrangements myself. The details of the trip are enclosed. _

_I earnestly solicit your help in this matter, and extend my own hand to aid you in whatever manner I can return the favor._

_Sincerely,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

_Headmaster, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

Tsunade read the letter over twice more. She hesitated, stood, and opened her vast liquor cabinet.

It was going to be a long night.

-

The Hokage's summons came early in the morning, half an hour after Naruto finally dragged himself out of bed and stumbled down the street to Ichiraku Ramen. He could easily have slept for another sixteen hours—he _needed _to sleep for another sixteen hours!—but his stomach had wrapped around his backbone and seemed to be trying to digest itself, and he was out of instant ramen.

"Tough mission?" the woman at the ramen stand asked sympathetically as she handed him his fifth bowl. Naruto nodded, swallowed half the noodles in one gulp, and devoured another load of his name-sake fishcakes before replying.

"Three days of nonstop—mph!—running n' fighting. Haven't eaten an'thing but soldier pills since the mission started." He tipped the bowl to drain the broth and set it back down with a clunk. "Pork, please!"

Ayame hid a grin as she turned to prepare the sixth bowl. When she turned back, though, her eyes went over his shoulder before they flitted to his face. "Sorry, Naruto," she said. "Looks like you won't have time to enjoy this one."

Naruto twisted on his stool and glowered at the chuunin runner entering the bar behind him. "What does Tsunade-baachan want _now_?"

The runner shrugged, handed him a folded note, and took off again to deliver his next summons. Naruto grumbled under his breath as he unfolded the paper. "Hinata already turned in our mission report, she can't _possibly_—ah, crap. In uniform and everything." He shoved the note back into one of the pockets of his battered jounin vest and flashed Ayame a brilliant grin. "I've got time for two more bowls if I hurry. Miso ramen next, please!"

"Should you eat so much if you've got another mission coming up?" Ayame asked doubtfully, but she was already preparing the seventh bowl.

"'know what 'm doin'," Naruto muttered indistinctly through a mouthful of ramen. "Fastest way to 'plenish chakra."

It was chakra he was going to need if Tsunade had another mission for him already. The injuries he'd taken in the last seventy-two hours had already healed, thanks to his demonic tenant, but the unnaturally accelerated healing was a huge drain on his energy reserves. Even after five and a half—no, six—bowls of ramen he was still ravenously hungry. He'd have to snag some of the energy bars they kept in the locker room. They tasted like mud-coated old leather, but they were nearly as effective as soldier pills, and they did a better job of filling the stomach.

He wolfed down the seventh bowl in record time, paid for his meal, and pushed away from the counter just far enough for the translocation jutsu. He _really _didn't feel like running all the way to ANBU headquarters.

-

Shikamaru was already in the locker room when Naruto arrived in a cloud of smoke and swear words. "Trust Tsunade-baachan to call us in _just _after we get back," he muttered darkly, stalking to his locker and canceling the seals that locked it. "We should be in _bed _now."

"The note said it was important," Shikamaru said mildly, tightening the straps on his right arm-shield. He wasn't too pleased with the Hokage either—he'd barely gotten to sleep when the summons had arrived, yanking him away from an entirely too pleasant dream of a certain blonde kunoichi. Trouble was, now he couldn't remember which one it had been.

Naruto tugged his black bodysuit and silvery armor out of his locker, dumped them on the bench, and stripped out of his wrinkled jounin uniform. The bloody slash he'd been sporting across his muscled bicep when they'd returned to Konohagakure the night before had already faded to a thin white line. Shikamaru glanced away. Naruto's 'tenant' was something he'd figured out years ago, long before Naruto had decided that it was his duty to tell his ANBU captain and comrades about the demon sealed inside him, but it was still something only rarely and reluctantly acknowledged.

"You ready?" he asked after a moment. He looked up from adjusting his shin-guards in time to see Naruto wriggling into his silvery-grey armored vest. Leg bindings took only a moment more, wrapped with the ease and speed of long practice. Shikamaru pulled his porcelain mask out of his locker as Naruto scrambled into the rest of his armor, his shaggy blond hair bobbing with every movement.

By the time Shikamaru had finished fitting the stylized deer-head mask to his face, Naruto was bundling his jounin uniform back into the locker and pulling out his own toad-face mask. "Ready," Naruto confirmed at last, checking the binding of the shuriken holster at his thigh. He slammed the locker shut with a sandaled heel and headed out, still muttering. "Dunno _what _she's thinking…swear I'm gonna give that old hag a piece of my mind…"

Shikamaru trailed after him, wondering for the five thousandth time what he'd done to deserve Naruto, the Hokage, missions, and the volatile combination of all three. "How troublesome," he muttered.

If he'd known how much more troublesome things were about to get, he would have wedged himself into one of the lockers and never come out.

-

The ANBU Falcon and Mouse were already standing straight and still in front of Tsunade's desk when Toad and Deer slipped through the door. Neither of the first two ANBU turned to acknowledge them, although Mouse's head tilted slightly to the left in a mute welcome. Tsunade suppressed a smirk.

"Good morning," she said, leaning forward with her elbows planted on her desk. The ANBU ducked their heads in greeting. Naruto's bright blond hair shone almost blindingly in the sunlight that lanced in through the window. Tsunade narrowed her eyes to slits and took a long gulp from the mug of tea on the corner of her desk. He hadn't exploded yet at being dragged in here so soon after returning from his last mission. A sign of growing maturity?

Or had he simply fallen asleep on his feet?

"Relax," she said, because although she derived secret pleasure from seeing them lined up smart and spiffy in front of her, she wasn't _that _cruel. "This is going to take a while. I'm sure you've already figured out that I've called you here for a new mission," she added.

"And that is…?" Shikamaru asked, pulling off his Deer mask and plopping into one of the two chairs drawn up to face her desk. Naruto moved to take the other, but Neji shot him a hard glance as he removed the Falcon mask. Naruto curled his lip at Neji and waved Mouse-masked Hinata into the chair instead.

"This," Tsunade said, passing Shikamaru the letter. The young man read it over, a raised eyebrow his only reaction, before passing it on to Neji, who showed even less emotion. Hinata bit her bottom lip and scanned it twice, then gave it to Naruto. The blond ANBU, naturally, had the most to say.

"The hell is this! You're sending us to _England_?"

"Not so loud please, Naruto," Tsunade said sweetly, "because my hangover hates you right now." He nodded grudgingly and handed the letter back. Two years ago he would have upped the volume even more, which said volumes for his increased experience in that time. He was still underage at nineteen, but, well, he'd trained under Jiraiya. What could you expect?

"So you believe what that man wrote?" Neji asked, lean face as impassive as any ANBU mask. "You'll send us to another country on the word of some foreign old man—"

"Of course she will," a new voice broke in, and the four young adults spun as Tsunade sighed. Jiraiya stood in the doorway, arms folded across his chest and face plastered with a knowing smirk.

"Ero-sennin!"

"Well, now," the Legendary Sannin said, pushing away from the doorway and heading into the room. "You've grown a lot, Naruto." He pulled something out of his shirt and tossed it to the blond. "My newest book. Thought you might enjoy it."

"Jiraiya," Tsunade cut in, tapping her fingers on the desk. "Now is not the time." She sighed at the man's grin. "Just explain to them, please."

The white-haired Sannin nodded and booted Shikamaru from his seat, lounging down himself. "I happen to know that 'foreign old man,' as you so nicely put it." His smile broadened at the looks on their faces. "You meet some interesting people when you travel around doing research," he continued. "And I happened to meet him a while ago. 'S'how the Sandaime met him. Anywho," he scratched his nose, "he's strange and kooky, but you can believe what he wrote."

"You're asking us to trust someone we've never met." Neji's voice was cool, as always, but there was a hint of disdain.

Jiraiya burst out laughing. "Hell no, boy. I said you can believe him, I didn't say trust him. There's a difference," he added, winking, and Tsunade felt a tinge of malicious glee to see Neji's cheeks turn just the _slightest_ bit pink.

"Still," Hinata cut in, her voice quiet but strong, "it is very far away. And," she paused and looked at the boys, then back to Tsunade. "How long would we be gone for?"

"Until you find the beast and have Jiraiya check it out."

"Eh?" Naruto cut in, slapping his hands down on her desk. "Ero-sennin is coming too!"

Tsunade nodded. "He's the best of the two of us with seals, and I can't exactly leave my post now, can I? This Dumbledore person mentioned an imprisoned—or sealed—beast, and we aren't taking any risks."

"You think it's a tailed demon," Shikamaru said, eyeing Tsunade. "That's the only reason you would send a team of ANBU so far away based on such a request."

"A bijuu?" Naruto asked, leaning forward so he was staring right at Tsunade. "There's a bijuu there?"

"There's the _possibility_ of a bijuu there," she corrected, shoving Naruto away from her. "And yes, that's why you're going. He may want you to protect his students, but your main mission is to find this sealed beast and bring it back here. Until you do so, you are staying in England and you're going to like it.

"Now," she continued, rubbing her hands together and eyeing the four ninja, "by a show of hands, who knows English?"

Three hands made their tentative way in the air. Naruto just looked confused.

"Only three of you," Tsunade said, fighting to urge to rub her temples. _Naturally_.

"Hey, that wasn't something we needed to know in the Academy!" Naruto protested, folding his arms over his chest as he turned to face the other three. "Why d'you guys know it?"

"I had to learn other languages for diplomatic purposes," Hinata answered, blushing a bit as Naruto's gaze locked on her. "I'm not completely fluent, but I can hold a conversation, if I have to."

"That makes sense," Tsunade nodded. "Your duty as the former heir might bring you into contact with foreign dignitaries."

"But what about _you_?" Naruto's voice—and volume—rose as he pointed at Shikamaru.

For his part, the strategist just eyed the blond with something that could _almost_ be called annoyance. "I'm lazy, not stupid." He turned to Tsunade. "I know enough for a basic conversation, but nothing more."

Tsunade nodded, then looked to the fourth member. "And you, Neji?"

He simply shrugged in reply.

Naruto's eyes narrowed; Tsunade could guess the cause. He'd just been shown up by all three of his teammates, and only Hinata had a valid excuse.

"So, Naruto," Jiraiya asked casually, the hint of a smirk gracing his features, "do you know _any_ English?"

"Of course I do!" the blond retorted, then coughed into his hand and composed himself. "I know… 'Thank you,' and, uh…" He began ticking the words off on his fingers. "'Thank you—'

"You said that already."

"—and 'Ramen,' and 'Where's the ramen?' and," Naruto barely paid attention to the interruption, "and 'food' and…"

"Naruto," Tsunade said softly, the strain evident in her voice. "Do you know anything that _doesn't_ involve food?"

"Not…that I can think of," he admitted grudgingly, then raised his hands to catch the book she threw at him. "What's this?"

"_An Idiot's Guide to English_," the Hokage stated flatly. "You will eat, breathe, and sleep that book during this mission, and you will be able to hold at least a five minute conversation by the time you get there."

"_What_?"

"As for the rest of you," she said, some of the bite gone from her voice, "I expect you to catch up on your language studies. I don't expect you to be fluent overnight, but if you're going to be there for a while, it is in your best interests to be able to blend in as well as possible." She sighed and rubbed her temples. "That I even have to say that to an ANBU team…"

"We will, Tsunade-sama," Hinata replied, standing. The other three lined up before the desk with the young Hyuuga, arms behind their backs as they stood at attention. Tsunade watched them, a proud smile combating the pounding in her temples, and then she schooled her expression and stood.

"You will leave two days from now. Make all your preparations by then, and meet me by the gates as the sun rises two days from now." Her face softened. "You are dismissed."

The four ANBU bowed and left, the door closing silently behind them as Tsunade slumped down into her chair and sighed.

"Long night?" Jiraiya asked from his chair, watching her with one eye.

Without a word, she pointed to her liquor cabinet and the empty sake bottles. Jiraiya whistled appreciatively.

"I wish you wouldn't do that," the Hokage said, holding her head in her hands, "it kills."

The other Sannin chuckled, then leaned forward, laying an arm on her desk. "Hey, Tsunade, I think you forgot one thing."

_Antagonizing bastard._ "Oh, what would that be?"

Jiraiya pointed at his eyes. "How do you supposed two Hyuuga are gonna fit into a non-ninja world?"

Tsunade stared at him for a few seconds, and then proceeded to swear.

It took her quite a while to finish the list of words she knew.

-

Dawn two days later found four ANBU, cloaked and masked, standing before the gates to Konohagakure with the Godaime standing before them. "Morning!" she said with false cheer. Toad and Deer slumped just the tiniest bit.

"Good morning, Hokage-sama," the Falcon said, and she returned his nod with one of her own. Even at this obscenely early hour, Neji's voice was impassively polite.

"Are you all ready?" Four masks nodded, and she smirked as she stopped before the Toad mask. "Where are you going?" she asked in English.

"To England," Naruto replied in passable (though heavily accented) English. "For our mission."

"Very good," Tsunade replied, switching back. "You'll do fine if you keep up like that." Behind her, the sun crested the tree-lined horizon completely. "I expect frequent reports," she instructed the Deer, "just not _too _frequent." Shikamaru nodded. The mask didn't quite muffle his sigh.

"Shikamaru, you are in charge of all covert aspects of the mission. Neji, should there be any need for combat, you are in charge." The two glanced at each other and nodded. Naruto didn't even bristle. The team had worked together for almost a year now, long enough that such a division of responsibilities was routine. She probably hadn't even needed to say it.

"Hinata, Neji." Falcon and Mouse stepped forward smoothly. "Jiraiya has informed me that when you meet with the client, he will be able to do something to disguise your eyes that will not waste your chakra nor require constant vigilance. Until then, use a henge. Secrecy is key." The two nodded and backed up again, joining the line. She eyed all four a moment more, then moved so she was no longer blocking their path. "Your transport is three miles away, off the road and into the trees half a mile. Go!"

Four ninja disappeared in puffs of smoke.

Tsunade stood at the gates until the sun bathed her face and she could hear the stirrings of her village behind her, and then she was gone, back to her tower and her bed.


	2. In Which Naruto Gets a Stomachache

13

Masks and Shadows

Disclaimer: If we owned _Naruto, _Teams 8 and 10 would have already appeared in the timeskip and would be awesome. As it is…we can only hope.

And if we owned _Harry Potter, _Squeak says: "Ron and Hermione would be snogging every five seconds but we know that'll happen anyway so I guess we do?"

Authors' Notes: Many thanks to those who reviewed, and especially to Phoenix of Eternity, our wonderful beta, who has steadfastly refused our pleas to let us slide by on ninja!logic. Go read her new story _Oracle, _it's truly awesome. (We're trying to make it up to Neji in this fic...)

Just so you know—we will _not _be concentrating on pairings in thisstory but we may introduce a little romance just to amuse ourselves. We chose these four _Naruto _characters because…we like them. And they amuse us.

Sense the general trend here? We're writing this fic 1) because there are far too few good crossovers, 2) because we get a kick out of it, and 3) because ninja are the most incredible beings out there, and we're going to prove it to the world!

* * *

Chapter Two: 

In Which Naruto Gets A Stomachache and Shikamaru Gets A Clue

"Just how," Shikamaru said slowly, "is an _owl _supposed to help us get to England?"

The brown-barred screech owl gave him a dirty look and held out its leg again, balancing with one clawed foot on the branch a few inches away from Shikamaru's nose. He was pretty sure that hoot meant nothing polite.

"Maybe you're supposed to untie the package?" Hinata suggested at his side. She pointed at the lumpy brown-paper parcel tied to the owl's right leg. The owl hooted gratefully and wiggled its toes at her. Shikamaru wondered if it had any idea what the stylized design of her mask was supposed to represent.

He heaved a sigh and reached forward to untie the parcel from the owl's leg. Fingers used to flashing through seals made short work of the knots, and in ten seconds the owl was flapping free, leaving the palm-sized package in Shikamaru's hand. He slid a kunai under the packaging tape and pulled the paper off, ignoring the owl's disparaging hoot as it disappeared into the trees.

There was another letter inside, slightly crumpled from being folded around a blunt shuriken. Shikamaru twirled the shuriken idly on one finger as he unfolded the note. Hinata glanced around for Naruto and Neji—they were still scouting the clearing, undoubtedly looking for a messenger more communicative than the owl that had just flapped down in front of Shikamaru—and then shrugged and peered over Shikamaru's shoulder.

The salutation and the first half of the letter contained little beyond a restatement of what the first letter had said. Shikamaru skipped half-way down the page before he found the new information.

…_I have arranged for you to travel to Hogwarts by means of a series of Portkeys. These devices will transport you from Konoha to Scotland in seven stages, with brief stops at relay points. From London, you will travel to Hogsmeade, the village outside of my school, where one of the teachers will meet you. His name is Hagrid, and I trust him implicitly. He will bring you to Hogwarts, where I will explain events in full._

_The shuriken enclosed will take you all to the next stage of your journey. It is timed to transport you at 7:37a.m., Konoha time. You _must_ all be in contact with the Portkey at this time, or grave consequences may ensue. _

_I look forward to making your acquaintance in person._

_Sincerely,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

_Headmaster, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry._

Shikamaru dug his watch out of his pocket. 7:35. They'd made it just in time. "Oi, Naruto! Neji!" he called. "We're leaving!"

Naruto appeared in a burst of smoke two seconds later, followed by Neji. The blond ANBU had tipped his mask up on his head and was frowning at the woods. "How can we be leaving?" he demanded. "There's no one here to meet us!"

"You missed it," Shikamaru smirked. He held out the shuriken. "Grab hold."

The other two looked dubious, but when Hinata laid a gloved hand on one of the shuriken points, they followed suit. They stood in silence for a moment, waiting. A bird sang somewhere off to Shikamaru's left; an owl hooted in the distance.

"This is stupid," Naruto complained. "What are we waiting—oof!"

His words were cut off as _something _inserted a hook behind Shikamaru's navel and savagely jerked him forward into a dizzying swirl of color and sound and nothingness.

-

Neji landed with a stagger on the smooth wooden floor of a room that was _definitely _not part of the forest outside Konoha. He released the shuriken immediately and sprang away, engaging the Byakugan. Hinata had done the same, he noted, and Naruto had snapped his mask down over his face and was peering around with his hand hovering dangerously close to his shuriken holster. "The _hell _was that?" the blond demanded.

"_That,_" said the short, dark-haired man in the doorway, "was a Portkey. As you should have known, had you bothered to read Dumbledore-san's letter."

Neji transferred his glare from the stranger (was that a kimono he was wearing? Where _were _they?) to Shikamaru. The pony-tailed ANBU folded his arms over his chest. "We ran out of time," he said in a bored voice. "And I assume we're on a schedule here, too?"

The short man nodded, producing a closed fan from the sleeve of his kimono. He tapped it with a long, thin piece of wood that looked suspiciously like a polished chopstick, muttered something under his breath, and held it out. "You have thirty seconds."

"Hey, wait," Naruto argued. "I'm not touching _anything _till I know—"

"Naruto-kun," Hinata's quiet voice broke in, "we'll explain it later. We have to hurry now." Without hesitation, she reached out and took the fan.

Neji _really _wished she wouldn't do that. Sure, she was his comrade and his equal (in rank, at least), but she was still his cousin, still, in some back part of his brain, _Hinata-sama. _Even if she was no longer the heir, even if by now her medical skills had saved his life almost as many times at he'd saved hers, he still felt that old impulse to protect her…which was probably a better idea than the _other _impulse that had led him to nearly kill her.

Not for the first time, Neji reflected that his family life probably reflected his name. Screwed up.

He released the Byakugan and wrapped his fingers around the other end of the fan. Shikamaru laid a casual palm on the center, and after a moment more of jittering, Naruto reluctantly touched his gloved fingers to the fan as well.

Just in time, because two heart-beats after all four of them touched the Portkey, the hook behind Neji's navel wrenched him away.

-

Six 'Portkeys' later, Naruto wasn't sure whether he wanted to be sick all over the floor or punch someone's (preferably Shikamaru's, for not having _warned _him) face in. He managed to stay upright by dint of staggering against one of the walls of the small, dingy room they'd arrived in. "I am _never,_" he hissed as soon as he'd gotten his breath back, "using one of those again. Don't care if we have to _walk _back to Konoha!"

Shikamaru sighed. "Konoha's half a world away," he pointed out. "And anyway, we're here now." He dropped the last Portkey—an old leather shoe—on the ground and strode to the door. It was the first place they'd arrived without someone already waiting to meet them; that alone was enough to tell Naruto they'd reached their destination. He tipped his mask back long enough to take several deep breaths, trying to regain his equilibrium. _Gods, _he hated those things.

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata paused with one hand on the door, painted mask turned back to him. "Are you all right?"

"'m fine," he assured her, tugging the mask back down. Neji and Shikamaru were already gone; he could hear them heading down what sounded like some very creaky stairs. "Gonna tell Tsunade-baachan to try those by herself next time before she trusts her shinobi to 'em, though!" He offered her a cheeky grin—never mind that she couldn't see it beneath the mask, unless she was using the Byakugan—and gestured grandly towards the door. "Better make sure Neji n' Shikamaru haven't run into anything they can't handle!"

Hinata's laugh was soft and warm. Naruto couldn't help smiling again as he followed her down the stairs.

Shikamaru and Neji were waiting at the bottom of the stairs, in a dim, dirty hallway with a single open door at the end. The room beyond was only a little lighter than the hallway. It was obviously a bar, and an extremely dingy one at that. And…was that _goats _Naruto smelled?

He took a few wary steps forward, right hand hovering next to his shuriken holster. The bar seemed unusually quiet. Only a few cloaked and hooded figures huddled over their unwashed glasses at dusty tables. A tall, thin bartender with stringy grey hair and beard was rubbing a filthy rag over the counter to little effect, unless it was to smear the grime even more. Naruto wrinkled his nose and glanced back at his teammates. "You _sure _this is it?" he asked doubtfully.

"Dunno where else it could be," Shikamaru said with a shrug. "You could ask the bartender."

"The man in the corner's watching us," Neji said abruptly.

Naruto stuck a gloved finger into his shuriken holster, slightly comforted by the familiar sharp-edged hardness of the steel after so many strange things. He glanced in the direction Neji had indicated. Sure enough, the black-haired man squished behind an absurdly small table in the corner was staring at the four Konoha ninja with eyes that glittered like tiny black beetles above his wild beard.

No, Naruto realized after a moment, it wasn't that the table was so small—it was that the man was so _big, _the size of an Akimichi under _Baika no Jutsu. _He'd heard that the English were a tall people, but this…

With relief he saw that none of the others in the bar were anywhere near as big as the bearded man. The relief turned to apprehension when the man shoved himself away from the table (his chair creaked alarmingly in protest) and strode towards them. Naruto and Neji automatically stepped in front of the other two. Naruto's right hand came up with shuriken glinting from between each gloved knuckle. Neji's hands were empty, but his threat was equally plain.

The bearded man stopped, glancing from one to the other of them with a bewildered expression. "Rubeus Hagrid," he offered after a moment. His voice was gruff and heavy, and his English was so rough that Naruto barely understood a word. Something about "Keeper" and "Hogwarts," and was that "Teacher?" The big man puffed up proudly at that word, whatever it was, and continued with his mangled speech. Naruto caught "Dumbledore"—at least, he _thought _it was the same name he'd read as _Dumburudouru_—and "asked me" and "meet."

It seemed as though the past two days he'd spent cramming that stupid _English for Idiots _book had done absolutely _no _good.

A touch of anxiety entered the Englishman's eyes when the ANBU only exchanged silent, confused glances with each other. He spouted off another line of gibberish, of which the blond ninja only caught "sent" and the rising intonation that probably meant a question.

Naruto glanced back at Shikamaru and Hinata. "Can _you _tell what he's saying?" he asked plaintively.

-

Hinata was fairly sure that the wild-bearded Hagrid-san didn't speak English—at least, not the precise, formal English _she'd _learned. But somehow, despite her persistent shyness with strangers, she found herself promoted to unofficial spokeswoman, because the three young men were…themselves. Neji, probably affronted at his inability to understand Hagrid's thick accent, had withdrawn into silent mode; Shikamaru seemed to be asleep on his feet, and Naruto's two days of cramming English lessons seemed to have done him no good at all.

Ah, well. At least her mask prevented any of them from seeing her blush when she mangled a conjugation or stumbled over a word.

Hagrid didn't seem to mind, though; he strode unconcernedly down the dark main street of the village he'd named Hogsmeade, waving his gigantic arms as he pointed out shops and sights. All the shops were closed, unfortunately; they might have left Konoha at dawn, but it was nearly midnight here in England. The four ANBU followed at a fast walk, hard-pressed to keep up with his long legs without breaking their own pace. Neji and Shikamaru didn't bother looking around, but Naruto's head swiveled constantly from side to side. Hinata didn't need the Byakugan to imagine his grin when they passed the place Hagrid identified as Zonko's Joke Shop.

He'd changed since their genin days, and it wasn't just the extra foot of height—he was a little quieter, a little more mature, a _little _less abrasive. But she was irrationally glad to see that the prankster in him had never died. Naruto was still Naruto, even after years and wars and the wreckage of dreams. She could still see that feckless blond hellion when she looked at him, and she hoped that would never change.

Perhaps it was ironic that out of their genin year, _she _was the one who'd changed the most. She'd started medical training soon after Naruto had left on his own three-year training mission with Jiraiya, and although she was nowhere near Tsunade-sama or Sakura-san's abilities, she was still good enough that ANBU had recruited her as a medic-nin for a four-man team. Specializing in something she was _good _at had given her the confidence she'd always lacked—and at the last, a little more than a year ago, she'd had enough confidence to step down from her position as Hyuuga heir and allow gifted, determined Hanabi to take her place. She'd told the clan that it was for their good; maybe they believed her. But, freed of those constraints of position and expectations, Hinata had found herself blossoming as she'd never expected.

Her way of opening the cage and flying free had been a little different than Neji's, perhaps. But it was his decision to change himself that had finally given her the confidence to start changing _herself…_and once more, she supposed, it all went back to Naruto. The boy who changed others without realizing or even really _trying. _He was a force of nature, unpredictable, unstoppable—

And currently entirely unimpressed with Hogsmeade's selection of restaurants. "Ne, Hinata," he whispered. "D'you think they even know what ramen is?"

Hinata stifled a giggle. "You could ask," she pointed out.

"Ah…" Naruto glanced up at the enormous man, scratched the back of his head, and visibly nerved himself up. "Here goes," he announced to the world at large, and switched to one of the few English phrases he'd already known. "Ne, Rubeus-san. Where's the ramen?"

Hagrid blinked down at him. Then he glanced at Hinata.

"Wha' language was that?"

-

Shikamaru had never particularly liked the ANBU masks. They were hot and sweaty and rather silly-looking, and it was a constant pain to maintain the thin film of chakra that kept the mask secured to his face. But, he decided as the four shinobi followed Hagrid through the corridors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, past moving portraits and coats of armor whose helmets turned to watch them as they passed, the masks had one definite advantage.

They prevented anyone from seeing four adult ANBU, Konoha's elite, gaping like idiots.

Even Naruto handled himself fairly well, with only a few startled exclamations and one attempt to maim a suit of armor that hefted its double-headed axe meaningfully in his direction. Shikamaru immobilized Naruto with the Kagemane no Jutsu before Hagrid turned to see what the commotion was, and after a quick exchange of insults (from Naruto) and sighs (from Shikamaru) they continued on their way through the deserted halls. Shikamaru hoped no one noticed the deep kunai-scratches on the armor or the sizable dent in its breast-plate.

They stopped again on the second floor, in front of a stone statue that resembled a cross between one of Naruto's summoning toads and an extremely unfortunate cat. "Now, wha' was that password again?" Hagrid muttered, scratching his tangled beard. "Ah, yeah. Dango," he announced to the statue.

Hinata squeaked. Neji twitched. Naruto went for a kunai. Shikamaru just folded his arms and stared as the statue sprang to life and hopped to the side, revealing a growing crack in the wall behind it. The crack widened to reveal a stone staircase that actually moved as it spiraled smoothly upwards. Hagrid stepped unconcernedly onto the first stair. Naruto and Shikamaru traded glances. The blond ANBU's back stiffened, and he jumped onto the staircase behind the enormous man. His three teammates followed more slowly, wary eyes sweeping around the curving staircase and hands hovering perilously close to shuriken holsters. Shikamaru was sure that Neji at least had activated the Byakugan.

The staircase moved up, and up, and up, until at last Shikamaru was beginning to wonder if he could stretch out on the stairs and catch a few minutes' sleep. But finally it froze, and Hagrid flung open a gleaming oak door with a brass knocker in the shape of an animal half-eagle, half-cat. The room beyond was large and circular, furnished with an enormous, claw-footed desk surrounded by tiny spindle-legged tables covered with strange silver instruments. The walls were covered with portraits of old men and women in rich robes, and an equally old man sat behind the desk, stroking the head of a beautiful scarlet-and-gold bird on a golden perch beside him.

"Good morning," the old man said in perfect Japanese.

Shikamaru sighed in relief as he stepped past Hagrid and into the room. Naruto was a little more vocal.

"Why'd Tsunade-baachan make me spend two _days _studying that stupid book if no one here even _speaks _English?"

The old man's chuckle was deep and rich. He pushed his chair back and stood, smoothing his long silver beard over his chest and peering at the four shinobi with blue eyes twinkling over his half-moon spectacles. "Thank you, Hagrid," he said in English. The giant man grunted a reply _none_ of the shinobi understood and headed out, shutting the door behind him as the man behind the desk switched back to Japanese. "Oh, I assure you, we all speak English. I am Dumbledore-sensei, the headmaster of this school, and I daresay the only one with any command of your language. And you are—?"

Shikamaru glanced at the others, suppressed another sigh, and ducked in a casual bow. "Nara Shikamaru," he said. "Team captain. Of sorts."

Neji identified himself in a cool, clipped voice, and Hinata followed suit in a slightly more subdued tone. She added in English, "We are pleased to meet you, Mr. Dumbledore."

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Hinata-san," Dumbledore said formally, but his eyes were still dancing as they moved on to Naruto. "And you—?"

"Uzumaki Naruto," the blond said cheerfully, already recovered from his early annoyance. "I'm the powerhouse of the outfit. And the, uh, specialist. Inside information, you could say!"

Shikamaru could just _imagine _the wide grin beneath Naruto's mask. He groaned, both at the pun—Naruto's puns were always atrocious—and at the unnecessary release of information. Was the Kyuubi's vessel going to announce it from the rooftops now?

Really, it was too bad Dumbledore spoke their language. Naruto's mouth would be much easier to handle if he was surrounded entirely by incomprehensible English-speakers.

Dumbledore, however, didn't seem disturbed, although Shikamaru was sure he hadn't missed the flicker of recognition in the old man's eyes when Naruto spoke. "Your Hokage wrote to tell me she was sending you," he said, flicking one long fine-boned finger against a letter on his desk. "She asked that I debrief you as thoroughly as possible. She also told me," he added in a slightly different tone, "that I had her permission to ask to see your faces."

Yes, that was definitely amusement in his face and his voice. "She did not, however, indicate whether you might agree."

Neji stiffened—hell, when did Neji _not _stiffen?—but Shikamaru shrugged and removed his own mask. The cool air of the study felt good against his over-heated face. He stepped out of his robes as well and slung them over the back of a chair before taking his seat in the same chair, black-gloved hands spread wide on black-clad thighs. "So. The debriefing?"

Dumbledore seated himself behind his desk again, fingers tented and face a little more solemn. He waited as the remaining three ANBU stripped out of their robes and masks—Neji looking stubbornly determined that he was only doing this because Shikamaru had done it first, Hinata looking relieved, and Naruto simply looking…Naruto-ish—before leaning back in his chair and gazing at all four of them over his spectacles.

"You know, of course," he began without preamble, "that this is not an ordinary school."

"We kinda guessed that when the armor started attacking, yeah," Naruto muttered. Shikamaru shot him a Look. Dumbledore, however, just laughed.

"Yes, those suits can be a little belligerent at times. There is far more to our world, however, than mobile chunks of metal or painted canvases. We are just as secretive as you shinobi, if a little more wide-spread, and indeed we share the same source of power. You call it chakra, and its users ninja; we call it magic, and its users wizards and witches. Oh, the way we use it is vastly different," he added at Shikamaru's skeptical look, "but it's true that in raw, unmolded form, your chakra is nearly identical to our magic. Take a look," he invited.

"Neji?" Shikamaru asked, without moving his eyes from the old man's wrinkled face. He heard Neji's harsh whisper of _Byakugan! _and felt the tiny surge in chakra as the Hyuuga activated his eyes, and he knew when Neji held the Byakugan long enough to glance around the room before he released the doujutsu.

"It's about as much like our chakra systems as Naruto's is," Neji said grudgingly. "The similarity's there—but the tenketsu are almost all blocked, except at the hands and a little around the face. He's got more open than that Hagurido man had, though."

Shikamaru wasn't surprised that Neji had snuck in a use or two of the Byakugan while hidden behind his mask. Apparently Dumbledore wasn't either. "Hagrid is among the best of men," he said calmly, "but he does have his weaknesses as a wizard. As a point of fact, however, I would be nearly as blocked as Hagrid or any other wizard if my wide travels in the past had not given me the advantage of working with several shinobi. When shinobi use chakra, they mold it inside themselves and focus it through the use of hand seals. A wizard's magic, however, is pure, unmolded spiritual energy, and it is focused through his wand and his use of specific incantations." He quirked a bushy white eyebrow. "Technically, all four of you could be wizards."

"So what?" Naruto burst out, leaning forward out of his chair. "We're here for a mission, not a lecture. What's going on here, jiichan?"

Dumbledore didn't seem insulted by Naruto's rudeness; the other eyebrow came up, but the corners of his mouth lifted as well in what Shikamaru could only describe as an amused smile. "I was getting to that," the old wizard said. "But it looks as if I should move faster." He leaned forward as well, blue eyes once more solemn over his spectacles. "Fifteen years ago," he began, "the wizarding world lived in fear of a man called Voldemort…"

As Dumbledore spoke, an uneasy sense of familiarity began to steal over Shikamaru. This Voldemort sounded a _lot _like Orochimaru, a threat Konoha had yet to destroy. Since Sasuke's apparent defection from the Snake Sannin three years ago, Orochimaru had stayed mostly quiet, but all of Konoha knew they would have to deal with him again sooner or later. And although he had lost his prospective vessel, Konoha hadn't gained it back—the Uchiha had gone on the run, and for two and a half years there hadn't even been rumors of Sasuke's whereabouts. _Good riddance, _Shikamaru had always thought, but now…

He glanced over at Naruto, wondering if the blond boy had picked up on those clues, wondering if the Kyuubi's vessel had any idea what Shikamaru was thinking.

This Voldemort man sounded a great deal like the type of person Sasuke might have sought out in his vicious quest for the power to defeat his brother…

When Dumbledore moved on to more recent events, Shikamaru was almost relieved. "Harry Potter is currently a student at Hogwarts," the old wizard informed them, "or will be, when the school year starts again. Over the last five years, he has been the target of numerous attacks carried out by Voldemort's minions or by the dark wizard himself. This last attack, however, does not seem to be aimed against Harry, nor even against me. Plainly, Voldemort has found something else in Hogwarts that interests him very much."

"The burglary your letter mentioned," Neji said quietly. "Did you catch the thief?"

Dumbledore shook his head gravely. "The books he attempted to steal from the Restricted Section of the library are specifically enchanted to alarm the entire school when anyone tries to remove them. The burglar fled without taking anything, but he did leave this embedded in the spine of the shrieking book." He pulled a palm-sized four-pointed metal star from a drawer in his desk: a shuriken. Shikamaru's gaze sharpened.

_A ninja tried to break into this place?_

"One of the paintings in the library also caught sight of the burglar," Dumbledore continued, laying the shuriken on his desk. "She said that he was dressed all in black, and that he moved without sound. Furthermore, she said that he did not seem to use a wand, although it was obvious that he was not a Muggle—a non-magic user. From this, and from other rumors I have heard of Voldemort acquiring new 'allies,' I concluded that our enemies already have hired shinobi of some kind. Thus—" he lifted one age-wrinkled hand, palm up and fingers spread—"you come in."

"Fight fire with fire, eh?" Shikamaru murmured. Naruto blinked at him, visibly dismissed the matter, and turned back to Dumbledore.

"So what about the bijuu?"

The wizard stared at him for a long moment. Naruto met the old man's gaze with eyes equally as blue and direct. Shikamaru wondered how much the Godaime _had _told Dumbledore about their team. The Kyuubi was still classified information of the highest degree, although over the past few years much of Konoha's violent prejudice against Naruto had begun to dissipate. Did Dumbledore know?

If he did, he'd evidently decided not to let on. "What makes you think it's a tailed demon?" he asked mildly.

Naruto shrugged. "You said it's a strange beast. Guess there are a thousand other things it could be, but our job is to plan for the worst."

_Naruto, planning? _Shikamaru hid a smirk. The blond was pretty good at coming up with spur-of-the-moment ideas while under fire, but Shikamaru was sure that as soon as they were alone, the burden would be dumped straight into his own lap. Well, perhaps it would prove interesting. Not even Neji could offer the strategic genius a good game of Go, and he'd need _some _kind of mental exercise while he was here.

"The book the shinobi tried to steal gave us our first hints about it," Dumbledore responded. "There were only fragments of information, but it seems that at the time of the school's founding, a powerful and mysterious beast attacked. The founders managed to imprison the beast somewhere on the school grounds, but we have no indication as to where—only that whoever could free and control the beast could gain unimaginable power." He locked eyes with the four ANBU. "You see why it is so essential that we find this creature before Voldemort does—or before some unsuspecting student stumbles across it."

From the look in his eyes, he was thinking of someone in particular. Shikamaru wondered if this school had a Naruto of its own.

Konoha's Naruto, on the other hand, was frowning, his brow scrunched in thought. "So you want us to guard the school openly," he said at last, "and search for the bijuu secretly. Well, we're good at guarding. And we've got two Hyuuga—if there's anything hidden around here, we'll find it!"

"Naruto-kun," Hinata protested, "it may not be that easy. Even our eyes can't see through seals like that."

Neji grimaced, evidently remembering his humiliating defeat at Naruto's hands in their first Chuunin exam together. "Besides," he added, "we can't exactly search this entire place with the Byakugan. Even in this office, there are places I can't see. Places that…aren't quite there."

"Hogwarts is almost a living entity," Dumbledore put in. "It changes at will, to aid—or frustrate—its denizens. Even I do not know the full depths of its structure." He tapped the letter on his desk again. "Your Hokage has informed me of your specialties, and it may be that we can find other ways for you to gain information in different guises." He smiled at Hinata. "I'd like to put at least one of you in a position where you can have some contact with the students and teachers—they often know far more than even I do. The Hokage indicated that you have received medical training, Hinata-san. How would you feel about being placed in the school infirmary as an apprentice healer—and unofficial eyes and ears?"

Hinata blushed slightly, and her white eyes slid to her teammates. Neji and Shikamaru both shrugged; Naruto gave her a thumbs-up. "I could do that, Dumbledore-san," she said softly.

"Good." Dumbledore nodded briskly and looked at the others. "I would like to place at least one more of you in some undercover position, possibly as a guest professor. There are a few positions that would not involve the use of wand magic. Astronomy, Arithmancy, Divination—" He suppressed a small smile at the last one.

"What're those?" Naruto inquired.

"Divination's like predicting fate or something, isn't it?" Shikamaru asked.

A muscle twitched in Neji's jaw. Naruto grinned. "Ne, ne, Neji could teach Divination!"

Dumbledore didn't make any effort at all to suppress his smile this time. "Well, you couldn't be worse than any of the Divination professors we've had so far," he murmured. "Would you be willing to do that, Neji-san?"

Neji glared at Naruto, but after a moment he said reluctantly, "Fine."

Naruto grinned even wider. "Okay, so Hinata's gonna be a medic, and Neji's gonna be a sensei. What about Shikamaru and me?"

"We'll patrol the school," Shikamaru cut in. "You can't possibly have less than two full-time guards on a castle of this size. Neji and Hinata will need to take shifts, too, when they're not working." He met Dumbledore's eyes. "If you really want us to provide protection for your students, we can't do any less than that."

The old wizard nodded. "That should work well, Shikamaru-san." He stood, sweeping his rich purple robes around him. "Now, I regret that we must end this meeting; it is nearly an hour past midnight by our time, and we have much to do in the morning. I've had rooms prepared for you in another part of the castle, and the Deputy Headmistress will meet with you in the morning to arrange your schedules and explain more about the workings of the school. For now, do you have any more questions?"

The ANBU exchanged glances. Shikamaru shrugged again, stood, and picked up his mask and robes. "Only one at the moment. I'd like a copy of that book."

Dumbledore's eyes crinkled in a smile. "I hoped you'd ask for that." He pulled a fat leather-bound book from the same drawer that had held the shuriken. Shikamaru took it, idly noting the deep scar across the spine and the aged yellow of the pages. He tucked the book under his arm, fitted his mask to his face, and turned towards the door.

The others followed suit, but Naruto hesitated with mask in hand. "I've got a question too. Where can we get some ramen?"

-

The—_house-elf?_—that Dumbledore summoned to guide them to their rooms seemed more than happy to answer Naruto's questions about ramen, even if they had to be filtered through Hinata's translation. It disappeared after guiding them to their suite of rooms on the third floor, but reappeared ten minutes later staggering under a platter laden with sandwiches, tea, and a steaming pot of ramen. No one voiced any objections when Naruto fell on the ramen like an Akimichi on…well, anything, really. His teammates were used to his obsession, and they kept their distance.

Neji used the time to explore their quarters, teacup in hand and mask pushed to the side of his head. The rooms were furnished in an odd mixture of Eastern and Western, pairing overstuffed armchairs with traditional ink paintings and low futons. The main room opened onto the corridor, with four bedrooms and a shared bathroom opening off it in turn. Neji chose the smallest room for himself, left his folded robe and mask on the futon, and headed back to the main room for another cup of tea.

Only Shikamaru was there now, lounging in one of the armchairs and staring thoughtfully at the pages of the book in his hands. Neji activated the Byakugan long enough to find Hinata washing her face in the bathroom and Naruto already changing for bed in the room two doors down from Neji's. They were adjusting to the nine hours' time difference, it seemed, but Neji didn't feel tired yet. He took a seat in the chair across from Shikamaru and stared moodily at the fire burning low in the grate.

"What do you think?" he asked at last.

"It's going to be troublesome," Shikamaru sighed.

Neji thoroughly agreed.


	3. In Which Neji Gets A FanClub

Disclaimer: If we owned _Naruto, _Yondy would have a name and a voice by now (dangnabbit animate the Gaiden!). And if we owned _Harry Potter, _well, we'd own Book Six and we'd know what's coming and we'd be laughing at all of you!

Authors' Notes: Not a lot to say here, other than many, many thanks to our wonderful beta Phoenix of Eternity, who has saved us from too many pitfalls to count. Thanks also to those who've reviewed for your encouragement and praise and criticism. Yes, Jiraiya's coming; no, we do not intend to focus on romantic pairings (we have plot, peeps!); yes, Hinata still has a slight tendency to downplay herself (with three teammates like _that, _I sure as heck would); and no, Neji is not Niraiya (that's the second coming of Jiraiya, for those of you who are injoke-challenged). Oh, and Shikamaru, Naruto, and Hinata are 19; Neji is 20. (I thought we mentioned that clearly enough in the first chapter, but apparently not… Sorry!)

And now, on to the story!

* * *

Masks and Shadows

Chapter Three:

In Which Neji Gets A Fan Club and Lupin Has Visitors

The room was, to put it mildly, packed. Prepubescent to almost adult, the dining hall was lined with children, all wearing robes and pointy hats, all talking so much that the noise became a drone of sound.

Shikamaru found it all much too troublesome.

Behind the ANBU mask, the genius shinobi swept his gaze over what was called the Great Hall, noting the long tables set up in four rows, the way the students at one side of the Hall glared at the students on the far other side of the Hall, and the way all of them were trying (but failing) to discreetly catch a glimpse of the four robed and masked figures standing, two on each end, at the head table. At the other end, he caught Naruto looking at him and then looking away, back out over the crowds. The kage bunshin at his side, henge'd into a red-haired version of Sakura, was doing the same, while the black-haired Shino kage bunshin beside Shikamaru just kept staring straight ahead, over the head table.

Hinata and Neji sat at the head table, Neji with a skinny woman covered with shawls who kept looking at him out of the corner of her eye, and Hinata with a woman wearing a strange hat farther down the table from her cousin. It was odd seeing Hinata sitting there with her disguise. Dumbledore had used a strange jutsu—_Spells, they're called spells here_, Shikamaru reminded himself—to mask Hinata's blank eyes. Seeing the girl with black pupils was as strange as meeting moving armor and talking paintings. Neji, it had been decided, could go without the disguising spell, because if the woman with the shawls was any clue, Divination teachers were strange enough that pure white eyes wouldn't cause any kind of stir.

Shikamaru scanned the head table once more, eyes lingering for an extra second on a teacher who, though surrounded by others, appeared to be sitting alone. There was a small, though noticeable, gap between the chairs around him that wasn't there between the other teachers. The man looked fairly young, despite his lined face and graying hair, but he picked at his food wearily, like an old man. His eyes looked worn but still full of life, and there was a twinge of _something_ whenever he looked at the ANBU. The genius shinobi wasn't quite sure what to make of the man, but he found his own gaze continuously returning to the teacher, mainly for the fact that he always felt the man's eyes on him. Naruto must have felt the same way, because the loud ninja kept glancing back towards that area of the table as well.

Maybe the man found them interesting because of their reactions to that singing hat from earlier? When it had begun talking—something about houses and helping each other and some other things Shikamaru hadn't much cared for—Naruto had nearly jumped, his head whipping around, staring at nothing but the hat until the last of the new children had taken their seats at the tables. Shikamaru had raised an eyebrow beneath the mask, but other than that had made no outward display of surprise at the piece of clothing. Honestly, all Shikamaru learned from the rhyming thing was that somehow the hat told the children where to sit. He would bet all Naruto learned was that there was a cool talking hat.

Eventually the chatting in the Hall began to die down as the students started eating in earnest, the food having appeared on the tables as soon as the hat finished talking.

Shikamaru imagined he could hear Naruto's stomach growling.

For his part, Naruto showed no signs of his probable hunger, recovering from his shock at the hat and now standing tall and straight, head moving slightly as he took in the hall in long, sweeping gazes. However, long, sweeping gazes became boring after a time, and as the kage bunshin beside him began to fidget, there was a clinking sound from the head table and Shikamaru turned his head to see Dumbledore standing up.

The Hall went silent.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," he said warmly, smiling. "If I may, I have a few announcements to make. Mr. Filch would, as always, like to let you all know that a list of forbidden items is posted on his door, and he would ask you all to become well acquainted with it. Also," his eyes flashed to one of the far tables, situated by one of the walls, and Shikamaru's eyes followed right after, "we would like to remind all students that the Forbidden Forest is, as always, completely and entirely off-limits to students. Those trespassing have only their lives at risk."

Shikamaru's eyebrow flew up beneath the mask. _A death forest? Here? With no training or testing grounds?_ His gaze wandered over the students and he gave a mental shrug. From what he'd seen of these wizards, he didn't think anything like a chuunin exam was used to train them. _So then why such a dangerous forest?_

"And," the elderly wizard continued, pulling Shikamaru's thoughts back, "as you have undoubtedly noticed, we have some new faces with us tonight, and some not so new." He gestured with a silver goblet at the teacher who had been watching Naruto and Shikamaru. "I trust that some of our older students remember Professor Remus Lupin, who will be returning as our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." There was cheering from the table Dumbledore had singled out earlier. "We would remind all of you that these are dark times, and as such, certain taboos once held cannot be continued. Please treat Professor Lupin with the same respect you would treat any other teacher."

At the other end of the table, Shikamaru noticed Naruto's back straighten and knew the boy was trying to pay extra attention. He wasn't sure how much Naruto understood of what Dumbledore was saying, but something in his tone must have alerted the young ANBU. As for himself, Shikamaru made a mental note to investigate this Professor Lupin more closely. Something about the man made the hairs on his neck stand up, and he hadn't survived ANBU this long by not trusting his gut feelings.

"Also, in our efforts to combat the dark, we have asked assistance from our friends in the East. Professor Neji Hyuuga has agreed to be the first guest professor in Hogwarts' history. He will be joining in with Divination classes, watching and giving his own insight to your studies." Shikamaru sighed at the way these Westerners couldn't say names the correct way. But a flutter of activity from the tables caught his attention, and the genius noted that a few girls were now staring at Neji. In what he was sure would be an uncomfortable way, should those gazes be focused on him.

_Women_.

"We also have the young Miss Hinata Hyuuga here, Professor Hyuuga's cousin and a medi-witch in training. Due to the events of last year, Madam Pomfrey has displayed a concern about lack of help in the hospital wing, and Miss Hinata is our answer to that, at the request of both myself and Professor Hyuuga. Treat her with the same respect you would Madam Pomfrey.

"And of course, I come now to those who have, undoubtedly, caught your interests through dinner." He gestured at Naruto and Shikamaru and the two kage bunshin, who all stood there at attention. "The Aurors have all been called to duty at this time, and I am afraid Minister Bones cannot spare any to help guard us full-time. While they will be making routine visits to help ensure our safety, I have taken precautions of my own, and have requested the aid of these guards. They all have the skills of any of our top Aurors, and they will be patrolling the school, watching out for your safety. You will be able to recognize them by their robes and masks." There was a hushed silence over the Hall as Dumbledore looked out at his students, a small smile passing over his face. "They would also like me to inform you that they would appreciate if you did nothing to put them on their guard, as they are more likely to kill you than deal with you alive." Shikamaru, Naruto, and the clones all nodded their heads in acknowledgement. The hushed silence was palpable.

As the Great Hall froze up at Dumbledore's words (Shikamaru never should have let Naruto request the Headmaster to say something), the Deer ANBU noticed that a group of students at the table Dumbledore had frequently glanced at were huddled together, talking among themselves in low voices. They were the only ones in the Hall not looking at the four ninja, and Shikamaru smirked beneath the mask.

Five to one, he'd just found Hogwarts' Naruto.

"Unfortunately, that is all I have for announcements this year, as much as I know it pains you all to have to stop listening to my voice." There were a few chuckles throughout the Hall, and some of the teachers tried to hide smirks behind their hands. "Therefore, I wish you all a good night, and luck with your studies this year.

"You are all free to go."

The mass exodus from the Great Hall was indeed something to see.

Once the last of the students were gone, along with most of the teachers except Lupin, the scrawny witch who looked like she wanted Neji's head on a pike, the older, regal McGonagall they'd met the other night, and a black-clad wizard who looked as friendly as Ibiki on a good day, Shikamaru turned and walked over to Dumbledore as Naruto did the same.

"I'm sorry you all had to stand around like that," Dumbledore said to the four standing ANBU. "There is food prepared in your rooms."

"Thank you," Naruto said in heavily accented English. The dark-clad teacher raised an eyebrow.

"You hired guards who can't even speak our language, Headmaster?" His voice was scathing, and Shikamaru didn't need any form of ninja sense to know the man hated them right off the bat.

"Now, Severus," the ancient wizard said calmly, "is that any way to treat our guests?"

The man—Severus—looked as though he was going to say something, but he bit it back before bowing and stalking out of the hall through a door near the head table. Dumbledore watched him go, as did all six ninja.

"You must forgive Professor Snape," the Headmaster said once the man was gone, turning back to the ANBU. "He is very distrustful, and with good reason. But please, don't let me keep you all here. Sibyll, Poppy, if you would please show Mister Neji and Miss Hinata around your sections of the school…"

The woman named Poppy—_Isn't that a type of plant…?_—seemed happy enough to show Hinata around the infirmary, but Sibyll gave a curt nod and beckoned Neji to follow her. Shikamaru found himself rolling his eyes at how the woman was doing her best to stay as far away from Neji as she could without actually looking like she was trying to.

Which left Shikamaru and Naruto with Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Lupin. The genius gave the younger teacher a look, trying to gauge as much as he could with only sight alone, but the other man bowed to his two elders, a small smile playing with the corners of his lips.

"I am afraid I must get back to my rooms, Headmaster, Professor. I have much unpacking left to do, and a lesson plan to write up. If you will excuse me?"

"Yes, yes, of course," Dumbledore said, smiling beneath his beard. "We all have much to do. Goodnight to you."

Lupin nodded to the other two wizards, then turned and smiled at the four masked guards. "I suppose I will see you later as well? If you ever need anything, please feel free to stop by my office. As the new Defense teacher, I feel I should offer any aid I have."

Shikamaru nodded. "Understood." This man talked much faster than Dumbledore, and it was harder to understand everything he said. While Shikamaru still had to focus to understand the Headmaster, he felt he had a rather firm grasp on most of what the man said. But hearing Lupin speak reminded him just how much he _didn't_ know and how much more he'd have to work to understand everyone else.

And he really wasn't looking forward to that fact.

Once Lupin was gone, Naruto looked around the room cautiously, then dispersed the two clones with a poof of smoke from each of them. While two kage bunshin weren't too much of a strain on chakra reserves (and Hokage knows, Naruto had plenty of _that_), holding them for hours on end wasn't the most restful thing ever. McGonagall raised an eyebrow at the sight, but said nothing about it. She hadn't asked what they would do to cover for their two 'missing' guards when she'd announced Neji and Hinata had to sit at the table, but apparently she approved of their solution.

"Headmaster," she said, nodding briefly in his direction, "shall I escort our guests back to their rooms?"

"Yes, Minerva, please do." He smiled at the two ninja. "I do hope to see you all around. And if you need anything or have any information, please do not hesitate to alert me at any time."

"Understood," Shikamaru replied, bowing his head as the Headmaster turned and left the room, leaving the two newcomers with the elderly teacher.

"So gentleman, shall we?"

"Actually," Shikamaru cut her off, holding up a hand. The words sounded slurred to him, both due to the mask and his own accent. "We will scout."

McGonagall gave him a look, then simply nodded. "As you wish. Food will be waiting for you in your rooms when you are ready. Until then." She gave a quick, final nod of her head and swept out of the hall, robes trailing behind her.

-

Neji had decided a long time ago that fate was something to be hated. In fact, he'd spent the better portion of his life railing and fighting against it. And so, when he found himself sitting in a room made to look like a forest wilderness, with trees around the walls and stumps and boulders placed haphazardly over the mossy ground, stuck between a half-horse, half-man and a very irritated looking woman, he wondered if he'd done such a good job of fighting after all.

His initial meeting with the other creature—'Centaur,' Dumbledore had told him, but Neji couldn't quite grasp the difference between centaur and demon yet—had sent chakra raging through Neji's system, and he'd gripped the wand Dumbledore loaned him almost hard enough to break. He knew this school was strange, knew there were customs here that a ninja of Konoha would never understand, but to let a demon teach a class…

He most definitely wasn't made to feel any easier when the creature had turned and looked right at him, raised an eyebrow, and turned away again, muttering something too soft for Neji to understand. But before he could even think of a question, let alone ask it, Trelawney had barged into the classroom, followed by about ten students, and Neji found himself sitting between the two teachers.

"Now, class," Trelawney began in what Neji knew she thought of as a mystical voice meant to draw in the students' attention. He also knew that half the students weren't paying attention to her. Because they were all fawning at him. Which did not sit well with the already touchy shawl-encased woman. "While I know lack of our tower classroom is a handicap to your Inner Eye—" beside him, Neji felt, more than heard, the strange horse-man grunt, and had she just mentioned an eye on the inside of people? "—we must make due with what Professor Firenze chooses. Being as he is the _official_ Divination teacher." Neji could feel her chakra flare out at that. "However, I will also be here watching, so if anyone needs my guidance, please feel free to talk to me, or visit me in my tower at any time."

"Thank you, Professor Trelawney," the man-creature—Firenze—said as he circled behind the two seated humans. Neji knew he wasn't as good as he could be with this language—something that had to be rectified—but he was quite sure the other hadn't meant 'thank you' at all. Being well-versed in hiding what he really meant, Neji found detecting such deceptions was easy no matter the language they were in.

"Class, I am sure you were introduced to Professor Hyuuga at the dinner," Firenze said, and Neji noticed he spoke slightly slower than the Trelawney woman, and whether that was natural or because he knew it cost Neji extra concentration to understand faster speech, the ninja was not sure.

Somewhere, a girl sighed.

"Professor Hyuuga is here to give his own…insight…in the ways of divining. He is not here to teach you all you need to know. The same goes for Professor Trelawney." Beside him, Trelawney tried to hide her glare, and Neji thought he heard her whisper a word he'd never heard before. From the look on her face, he didn't think it was very fitting for a classroom setting.

A dark-haired girl raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss Patil?"

The girl spoke so fast Neji could only catch every other word, but he was sure he heard his name and something that sounded like "teaching."

"Professor Hyuuga, I believe, can answer that question himself."

Neji's back stiffened as he processed what Firenze had said. Answer _what_? He couldn't very well answer a question he hadn't understood.

But he stood anyway, resisting the urge to glower at the way all the girls in the class instantly locked their eyes onto him. He wondered briefly if they would be so infatuated if they knew he could kill them in under five seconds and not even bat an eye, and then realized these were probably the types of girls who would, in fact, think that was something to admire.

"Hello," he began, trying to feel as steady as he usually did, despite the language barrier and the fact he could feel Trelawney's gaze boring into his back. One of his fingers twitched but he forced himself to remain calm. Anything less would court disaster.

And Neji prided himself on his ability to remain level-headed, especially since he had failed at that six years ago when he'd attempted to kill his cousin in the first chuunin exam.

"I am Professor Hyuuga." His voice sounded stiff and clipped, and while he was aware he had an accent, he also knew it was not as bad as some. "I will be teaching you in some of our Eastern Divination techniques." The pre-planned and practiced speech tumbled out as he gauged the students' reactions to him, kept an eye on his surroundings, and generally did what he did best—spying.

Someone raised a hand, which caused him to pause in mid-sentence. "Yes…?"

Her words flew by and Neji's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "Please repeat that, I have…difficulties…still. With English." The admission was grating, and he had an irrational urge to blame Naruto for his newest problem. If the blond hadn't suggested he teach Divination…

"Um…" the girl began again, looking amongst her peers as though for courage. Neji was briefly reminded of Hinata. "Your eyes… Can you see at all…or only the Sight?" It took Neji a moment to realize what she meant by Sight, and then he realized she must mean how good his vision was.

"I see very well," he replied, voice clipped slightly. "I see like you."

"So like, do your eyes get color when you See?"

Neji blinked, running what she'd said through his head. By her obvious emphasis on first Sight, now See, and knowing the class they were in, it didn't take him very long to understand what she was talking about.

"No. They do not."

"What about pupils?"

The last word she said was unfamiliar but he could take a rather good guess. "Yes. In a way." Use of the Byakugan gave his usually pure white eyes more of a traditional definition, although he couldn't say he had pupils in the way she meant. However, if it would stop the flow of inane questions, he was willing to bend the truth a bit.

"Well, then—!"

"Please," Firenze said from behind him, but Neji did not turn to look. "Enough questions. Professor Hyuuga will teach you all what he sees fit." The man-creature clopped up beside the ninja, and Neji looked at him out of the corner of his eyes. "Professor Hyuuga, you may be seated."

Neji nodded to the other teacher and took his place as Firenze began to teach. Even though the man-creature talked slowly, Neji understood barely any of what he said. Divination terms were not, obviously, taught in English handbooks.

So instead, Neji spent his time examining the classroom, watching the students closely, as well as the female teacher beside him. While most of the students seemed to be listening attentively to Firenze, he would catch one or two looking away from the non-human teacher, if only for brief seconds, and he smirked. This was beginning to remind him of his Academy days, back when he would see some of the other students try to find anything but Iruka to look at. Of course, these students wanted to be in this class—he'd been told he'd be attending a sixth-year class, and that meant the students all chose to take it—but then again, the same could be said of everyone in the Academy.

Of course, when he was in the Academy, none of the girls had looked at him like they were doing now. It was highly irritating and more than slightly unnerving.

His perusal of the students finished, Neji turned his eyes to Trelawney. She was trying hard not to glare, but failing badly. From what he'd learned, he knew she was the Divination teacher until last year, when she'd been fired. No one really explained any more to him, except that Dumbledore rehired her during the summer and allowed her to continue living on in the castle. Why they would have two Divination teachers he didn't understand, but he wasn't about to question the strange customs of such an odd school.

She noticed him watching her, though, and he quickly shifted focus when her eyes tried to bore holes into his head. With women like her around, he could completely understand Shikamaru's wariness of things of the female persuasion.

Firenze was still talking, the English sounding like the drone of noise he could hear in the forest while he trained alone. Being able to pick up one word out of five was annoying and frustrating, and only served to remind him how much he didn't know. He resolved to go to the library once he was free and pick up some more English language books. The inability to follow any conversation he ran into was a hindrance to his mission, and he refused to fail in any way.

"Well," Firenze said, and Neji blinked. The centaur had turned back to face the ninja, an unreadable expression on his face. "Professor Hyuuga, you will teach a section of next week's class. Please come prepared." He turned away then, and Neji's eyes narrowed. He knew a taunt when he heard one, and that this centaur thing had done so before his class did not sit well with Neji.

Neither did the fact that, all things considered, Neji knew next to nothing about traditional Divination techniques of the East.

…He was going to have to pick up some more books when he made his trip to the library.

-

Hermione breathed in the scent of the library, a smile turning up the corners of her lips. She missed the musty smell of the books and the comforting silence that came along with such a place of study. Despite everything that had happened last year, despite the fear and uncertainty in her family and friends and the wizarding world in general, the library never changed.

It was a fact she was infinitely glad for.

And so when the new male teacher—Professor Hyuuga, she reminded herself—came hurrying through the library and aimed straight for the Divination section, she couldn't help but be overly curious as to what would cause such a commotion in her favorite place. Setting her own book down—_Archimedes and Arithmancy_—she crept up to one of the shelves and then along it, trying to be as silent as possible as she followed the white-eyed teacher.

Maybe there was something to Harry's, Ron's and her speculations about the two new teachers after all.

Professor Hyuuga stopped suddenly in his perusal of the shelves and she froze, holding her breath. She was sure she'd been as silent as possible, but could he have heard her anyway? After a few tense seconds he appeared to relax, his attention drawn back to the bookshelf. Hermione couldn't read the titles from where she was, and she cursed under her breath at her inability to get closer. But if she'd almost been caught where she was, she wasn't going to try to get closer.

He grabbed another book before he headed towards another section of the library. Hermione found it odd that not only did a Divination teacher have to look for Divination books, but also that he knew exactly where they were, as well as the Foreign language section, while having been at the school for what she suspected was only a few days.

When he was gone from the Divination section, she crept over to where he'd been, scanning the shelves. She still remembered this section from years ago, when she'd actually attempted the stupid, pointless class, but, to her shame, she didn't remember the names of any of the books.

She'd have to work harder to figure out the names of the books he'd taken.

Over in the Foreign Language section, Professor Hyuuga, apparently finished with his book hunting, turned around and headed towards the desk, and Hermione hurried back to her place and grabbed her books, scooting forward a few tables so she could at least have a chance at hearing what he said. She did, however, make sure to hide her face behind the book she had been reading. When he had let Madam Pince know he was borrowing some books, he made his way out of the library, and Hermione gave him about a minute before she too stood and made her way to the desk.

"Yes, I'd like to borrow these," she said, flashing Madam Pince a smile. The witch smiled back and took Hermione's books, and while she noted down the names of the volumes, Hermione discreetly stretched her neck to read the titles of the two most recently borrowed books.

_Eastern Divination—Oracle Bones and Zodiacs_, and _Your Fate and You: On Reading the Signs of your Birthyear_.

Then Madam Pince was giving her back the books she'd borrowed herself, and with another smile, Hermione swept from the library.

She _definitely_ had something to tell Ron and Harry later.

-

Harry crept down the hall, so used to sneaking around under his Invisibility Cloak that it was second nature to mind his scuffing, keep his breathing even and ears open. Which was a good thing, because he had a lot on his mind and wasn't about to pay extra attention to his surroundings.

Lupin was back, which was both a Godsend and another stab to his emotions. Part of him wanted to run to the man and confide in him, another part wanted nothing to do with his father's last remaining friend. _All my luck, I'd get him killed as well._

But he couldn't deny that he had missed the older man, and that there were lots of things to talk about—last year was a major topic of discussion, and it appeared that these new guards and teachers were working their way to becoming a major topic, too.

_Coincidences like that don't just _happen_ around here. And definitely not around _me.

And thus it was that he turned a corner, a few doors away from Lupin's office, half lost in thought when the shadows suddenly moved and something darted out towards him. Quick reflexes were all that saved him as something metal flew past his head, but then there was something behind him and as he drew his wand, a knife kissed his throat as an arm wrapped around his torso and pinned his own arms to his sides.

Harry had a brief second to wonder how anything—or anyone—had managed to notice him under the Cloak—_A knife? Who uses a _knife _in a wizard school?—_and then they were moving those last few steps to Lupin's office, and the hand holding the knife moved to rap on the door before returning to his neck. His mind raced, trying to think of anything that could help him out in a hand-to-hand combat situation—the DA would _definitely _have to take this into consideration—but he could think of nothing besides a disarming spell (which would require his arms being free) and kicking the man's shins. And judging the ease with which he'd been caught, a kick to the shins seemed rather useless.

And so he waited, holding his breath and tensed to move the second he had the chance. The few moments of silence seemed an eternity before the door creaked open and his former teacher's familiar face peeked out.

"What have we here?" He looked first at Harry's unseen assailant, and the teen saw Lupin's expression change from mystified to amused in just a few seconds. "Ah, I see." And then he reached out and pulled the Cloak off as Harry's attacker removed his arms.

"It's been a while, Harry. Why don't you come in?" The last was directed at both the wizard and the unseen attacker. Harry froze for a second, feeling exposed without the Cloak. Lupin noticed and smiled, handing the cloth back to Harry as his assailant walked past him into the room.

_One of the guards? What is an Auror-level guard doing using knives?_

"Harry, please take a seat. You as well, sir."

The guard made no move to do as he was invited, and Harry watched him closely as he sat down in one of the seats before Lupin's desk. The masked man stood straight, arms at his sides. Harry remembered him from the Feast—the spiking ponytail was hard to miss. And when all the guards' faces were covered, the only defining feature was their hair—blond, brown, red and black. Hermione argued the designs on the masks meant something as well, but Harry hadn't been able to get a good look at them, and even from this distance the stylized face was hard to make out.

"So, Harry, what brings you to my office at this hour?" Lupin smiled at him from the other side of the desk, but Harry didn't return the smile. The werewolf noticed and his smile waned, his eyes darting over to the guard standing only a few feet away. "And I should ask the same of you, sir. I know I offered to help you with anything you needed, but finding you outside my door with one of our students held at knife point is rather…odd, to say the least."

The masked man paused, his posture slackening just enough to catch Harry's attention. _Why would a guard stop standing at attention when he's addressed…? Like he doesn't know what Professor Lupin said…_

The moment was short-lived, however, as the guard's back straightened again and he spun the knife in his hand before sheathing it in the holster at his thigh. Harry couldn't escape the feeling that the man was showing off just the tiniest bit.

"Unseen person was in the hallway. I stopped him." He turned to Harry, the only sign of movement a slight tilt to his head. "You don't want be attacked, don't walk around not being seen."

Harry gaped at him. "You…you could see me under the Invisibility Cloak?" Last he knew, the only way to see someone underneath the Cloak was using the Marauder's Map or Mad Eye's fake eye. Either this man knew a spell no one else did, or there was something very strange going on.

The man hesitated again. "Not see. You were unseen." He sounded as though he was explaining something to a young child.

"But—"

"So what you're saying, sir," Lupin cut in, giving Harry a nod as the other boy eyed the guard, "is that you couldn't see Harry, but yet knew he was there anyway. That's very interesting, sir. The Invisibility Cloak is one of the hardest enchantments to break."

The guard said nothing.

Lupin frowned, then sat back, folding his hands over his lap. "May I ask your name, sir?"

There was another pause, and Harry thought he heard the beginnings of a word before the man stopped and seemed to run something through his mind. "Deer. I am Deer."

"Well, Mr. Deer, as I was saying, it is very interesting you managed to find Harry. Only Aurors with special abilities are able to do such a thing." Harry glanced at his friend out of the corner of his eye and caught the corner of Lupin's mouth twitching up.

The guard turned his head slightly to look straight at Lupin, and Harry felt a shiver creep up his spine.

"Like you? You have differences from other teachers. Why is this?"

Lupin's eyes narrowed, as did Harry's, but the guard's stance didn't change at all.

"What do you mean by that?"

"The Feast," Deer said, and Harry had to fight the urge to grab his wand. "Headmaster said you had differences. Your cha— Your magic feels different." His stance finally changed, loosening up as though he was preparing for a fight; his fingers spread slightly, as though to grab the knife he'd previously sheathed, and all the weight went to the balls of his feet. Harry was reminded of too many wizarding duels, and he gave into the urge to reach for his wand, although he held it loosely at his side, hopefully hidden from Deer's sight. "I want to learn why."

"And so you attack innocent students outside my door?" Lupin, while still sitting back, looked just as tense as Harry felt, and the boy was sure it wouldn't take long for him to retaliate should Deer do anything. Lupin hadn't survived this long as a member of the Order to lose to some strange masked guard in his own office.

"Unseen people are not innocent people. I protect this school. Unseen people are threats."

"So why not use a hex to stop me?" Harry asked, eyes narrowed dangerously. "Instead of a knife to my throat?"

Deer paused, the first hints of insecurity he'd shown yet. And Harry realized that, while the man appeared ready for a fight, he had not pulled out a wand, nor did it seem he had one. Only that knife.

And Harry very suddenly needed to talk to Hermione about wizards from the East.

"Where's your wand?"

Deer turned to look at Harry, back straightening as he eased out of his fighting stance. He said nothing, and Harry stood, pointing his own wand at the guard.

"I don't think you even have one. What kind of guard for a wizarding school doesn't carry a wand?"

The masked guard looked at Harry for a long time, and then reached up under his left arm guard, pulling out a long narrow wand perhaps a few centimeters shorter than Harry's own. The black-haired boy didn't move, but his stomach bottomed out.

"Not all fights need magic to solve," Deer said easily, flipping the wand in his hand the same way he had with the knife before pocketing it. He then turned to Lupin, giving a slight nod of his head that was barely respectful. "I am sorry for making a scene. I will talk to you later."

Without a second glance at Harry, he backed out of the room and into the hallway, lost to the shadows as soon as he was passed the threshold.

Harry stared at the still open door, then stomped over to it, shutting it with a force just short of slamming before he turned back to Lupin. The former Marauder was standing, hands slapped down on his desk and a dark look on his face.

"I take it, Harry, that you had come to talk to me about them?"

"Yeah," Harry said slowly, slumping down in the chair when he reached it. He still held his wand loosely in his hand. "Hermione said she found out something about Professor Hyuuga, and we all have questions about these guards. I thought you might know since you're a teacher, but…"

"It seems we're both rather in the dark," Lupin finished, frowning.

Harry sighed, idly flicking his wand in his hand before deciding to pocket it. As he put it away his hand brushed something else and his eyes lit up as he pulled it out, spreading the Marauder's Map on Lupin's desk. The teacher's eyes lit up as well, understanding passing over his features. Then he looked up at Harry, one eyebrow arched.

"You had the map on you and still got caught?"

Harry looked up at Lupin quickly, then back down. His cheeks were slightly red. "I'd put it away because I was basically right outside your door."

"Ah, I see. And what is it you've thought of now?"

The young wizard quickly scanned over the map, trying to find Lupin's office. "Did you hear when you asked him his name, he started to say something else and then changed it? Sounded like a shh sound. If we can find him on the map…"

"We can know his real name," Lupin finished, pointing to a section on the map Harry hadn't reached yet. "Here, this is my office. Now, look for…" His voice trailed off and his frown deepened, and Harry quickly looked to where he'd pointed, his own expression darkening as he saw what Lupin had.

Deer was still in the vicinity, about three corridors past Lupin's office and still moving away. The problem wasn't that they couldn't find him on the map.

It was that his name was written in characters that Harry didn't know.

"Asian," Lupin sighed, sitting back in his chair. "Looks like finding out who they really are will be a bit harder than we hoped."

"Maybe," Harry said, a faint smile lifting the corners of his lips, "if we didn't have a Hermione to help us."

There were few things that went on underneath Hogwarts' roof that Harry didn't try to poke his nose into. He'd be damned if he let this one slip by.


	4. In Which Hogwarts Has Questions

Masks and Shadows

Disclaimer: We own the rights to neither _Naruto _nor _Harry Potter, _but Kilerkki does own a copy of _Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince! _Boo-yah!

Authors' Notes: Many thanks to all our reviewers and especially to our splendiferous beta-reader, Phoenix of Eternity, who probably thinks by now that we are slightly mad for launching into such a huge project with so little understanding of what we were undertaking. Enormous thanks also go to those reviewers who have taken the time to critique as well as comment. We're sorry to disappoint some of you, but we're not planning on introducing any more old friends from _Naruto; _what would be the point? And we're not going to suddenly introduce a translation spell when neither the Harry Potter universe nor the Naruto canon has ever shown any indication of such a spell/jutsu existing. Think realistically, people.

Besides, language barriers amuse us. Perhaps we should include some Engrish…

As a final note: this fic is already AU (sorry to disappoint those who thought ninja running around Hogwarts would be, y'know, canon…) and from this point on is even more so. We shall not be taking any of the people, places, events, or incidents in _Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince _into consideration in the writing of this fic; please do not take them into consideration in the reading. **And please don't include spoilers in your reviews.** Rest assured that if something in _Masks and Shadows _differs from something in HBP _or _the latest chapters of _Naruto, _we meant it that way.

* * *

Masks and Shadows

Chapter Four:

In Which Hogwarts Has Questions and Naruto Gets Some Exercise

"Well, of course you couldn't read it," Hermione said absently, turning a page in _Archimedes and Arithmancy. _"If they're from the East, they wouldn't write their names in English. Did Professor Lupin figure out anything else from the Map?"

Harry shook his head and lowered his voice, even though the Common Room of Gryffindor Tower was nearly deserted at this late hour. Save for Harry, Ron, and Hermione at their favorite table near the fire, the only other denizen of the Common Room was Hermione's large ginger cat, Crookshanks, who was napping in an overstuffed chair by the portrait hole. "Lupin said the Map was designed to show a person's true name," Harry reported. "So it wouldn't translate into English letters. But—" He spread the map out on the table, tapped it with his wand, and muttered, "_I solemnly swear that I am up to no good. _See, there!"

Ron leaned over Harry's other shoulder to peer at the map, and even Hermione looked up from her book to follow Harry's pointing wand-tip. Two little sets of symbols squeezed together in a suite of small rooms on the third floor. Another set of symbols wandered a first-floor corridor; a fourth seemed to be climbing the stairs to the Astronomy tower.

The fifth and sixth sets of symbols—one poking into a closet on the fourth floor, one descending into the dungeons—were exactly the same as the fourth.

"Blimey," Ron said slowly. "Those first two—isn't that the corridor where we found Fluffy, our first year? And how come—" He bent a little closer, till the tip of his long, freckled nose nearly touched the yellowed parchment. "Those two," he said, pointing at the two names on the third floor. "Their first halves are the same. And those _three _are _exactly _the same!"

Hermione bent over the parchment as well, her thick brown hair falling about her shoulders. "Well, in most Eastern countries the family name comes first," she said. "So those could be Professor Hyuuga and his cousin, the medi-witch. But the last three…"

"Lupin didn't know either," Harry said. "But he said the map doesn't make mistakes; if those three names are the same, it's because they _are _the same. Except we still don't know what they are," he added rather lamely.

Hermione's eyes narrowed. She reached for a spare bit of parchment, dipped her quill in ink, and copied the four names with tiny precise strokes, noting which one was repeated three times. "I'll look them up tomorrow," she said. "After all, Professor Hyuuga shouldn't be the only one using the Foreign Language section!"

"Speaking of which," Ron interjected, "did you ask Lupin about Hyuuga, Harry?"

"Yeah," Harry said. "But he doesn't know much more than we do. He saw Hyuuga—and his cousin and the guards—for the first time at the start of term Feast, and none of them have visited the staff room yet."

"Parvarti said Hyuuga's teaching Divination next week," Ron said, sounding disgusted. "She and Lavender are almost as daft about him as they were about Lockheart. _Professor Hyuuga has the silkiest hair…Professor Hyuuga has the smoothest voice…Professor Hyuuga's eyes are like pools of moonlight!_" He made a gagging noise. "Professor Hyuuga's a bloody fop, if you ask me."

"I still want to know why he was looking for books in his own subject," Hermione said thoughtfully. "I mean, I could understand if he was looking for some really esoteric book he wouldn't have, but those were both entry-level texts on Eastern Divination. Maybe he just wanted to see how the subject's treated in English books, but…"

Ron gave her a dubious look. "C'mon, Hermione, that's a bit thick. If you ask me, he's just as much a nutter as all the rest of 'em. All those Divination folks are off their rockers."

Harry wasn't really listening to them. "I want to know more about those guards," he said. "How did Deer see through the Invisibility Cloak? And why did he attack with a _knife? _He didn't even pull out his wand until I asked him if he had one. Another thing, too," he added as an afterthought. "He wasn't wearing those robes they had at the feast—he had on some kind of uniform that looked more Muggle than wizard. Even Aurors wear robes, but this guy had black trousers, silvery body-armor, and some kind of knife-sheathe strapped to his leg. Almost like they're not really wizards at all—or at least aren't expecting to fight the way a wizard fights."

"Well," Hermione said briskly, "we'll all stop in the library after dinner tomorrow night and see what we can find out. In the meantime, don't you two have homework to start?" She pulled _Archimedes and Arithmancy _towards her again and flipped back to her spot.

Ron eyed her. "Don't _you _have any homework?"

"Already finished it," Hermione said. "I picked this up in the library for a bit of light reading."

Harry and Ron knew all about what Hermione considered light reading. They stared at the 700-page 18th century tome, glanced at each other, and decided not to comment.

-

Hogwarts students, Hinata decided by the afternoon of the third day, were accidents waiting to happen. And a great many of them already had.

At least they weren't the sort of "accidents" she was used to, which generally involved a great deal of blood and quite a bit of grave-digging. But even when Naruto had pretended to be stuck in his Sexy no Jutsu form for three hours on a boring mission (during which their client had nearly fainted from blood loss and even Neji and Shikamaru had hastily stuffed tissues up their noses), at least he hadn't added antlers to his head, or turned his nose into a cauliflower, or invented hiccups that absolutely refused to stop.

Madam Pomfrey ("_Just call me Poppy, dear, you're not a student anymore, and would you mind handing me that bottle of Skele-Gro?"_) had dealt with most of their visitors with an unruffled calm, although she did seem glad to have an extra pair of hands. When Hinata suggested, during a lull in that morning's influx of variously hexed students, that Hogwarts must lose several students every year if this was the normal state of things, Poppy laughed and shook her head.

"It'll calm down in a few days, dear," she said warmly. "Things are always like this for the first few days—old rivalries heating up after the summer, I suppose. Didn't students get into fights when you were at school?"

"Ah," Hinata said, thinking of Neji and her first chuunin exam and the month she'd spent coughing up blood. "Yes."

But at least Neji had honestly tried to _kill _her, not Transfigure her head into a bulbous orange pumpkin.

By that point the ward was empty; it was lunchtime, Poppy said, and they probably wouldn't have any more patients until after lunchtime confrontations were over. The two women ate in the hospital wing, in the little office at the back. Hinata was very, very glad for her show-no-emotion training when a casual swing of Poppy's wand produced a platter of chicken sandwiches, a pot of tea, and a plate of biscuits. A few years ago, she might have jumped and even squeaked at alarm. Now, she simply tensed, blinked, and gratefully accepted a cup of tea.

Poppy proved to be talkative, warm, and motherly—and a bit of a fusser, Hinata thought privately. Fortunately she had accepted without question Hinata's story about being trained in Eastern methods of healing and wishing to learn more about the Western style; she chattered cheerfully about new charms she'd read about in the latest issues of _Healers' Monthly _and _Asclepius, _and once she even shoved aside her plate and drew her wand to demonstrate the wrist movement for a particular wound-sealing charm. Hinata copied her movements dutifully, but the wand Dumbledore had procured for her seemed dull and lifeless. Perhaps she was so used to molding chakra that by this point it was unnatural to use this "magic" in its raw form?

She stored it away as a question to ask Neji or Shikamaru later that night, and turned her attention back to the chocolate biscuits.

"I _do _like a nice cup of tea of an afternoon," Poppy said at last, pouring herself a final cup from the seemingly-bottomless teapot and smiling pleasantly at Hinata. "There's something so relaxing about it. Especially after such a morning as we've had."

"Mm, yes," Hinata said, and decided that this opening was as good as any. "Also I have heard that things be nervous here. After the robbery."

"Oh, goodness! Dumbledore's told you about that? Well I expect he must have; he's very good about keeping us up-to-date on the happenings here. Although no one knows who the burglar was or what he was after—and he must have been a terribly good wizard, to break into Hogwarts. Sirius Black managed it three years ago but of course everyone thought he was practically the right-hand man of You-Know-Who…" She trailed off significantly.

Hinata didn't know Who, but she nodded sympathetically and lifted her eyebrows as an invitation for the older woman to continue. It didn't sound as though Poppy knew much, but the slightest bit of information might be the final clue to help Shikamaru fit the puzzle together.

"Could it be the same person?" she asked. "This…Black man?"

Poppy shook her head. "No, Black died this past year—it was all over the _Daily Prophet, _but of course you didn't see. As it turns out he was never working for You-Know-Who, it was all a frame, but the truth came out rather too late for him. Poor boy," she added reflectively. "I used to see him quite often when he was a student here."

Hinata mentally crossed Sirius Black off her list of Things To Find Out About and struck a different tack. "What do you hear about the robber? I tell you," she added in a somewhat lower tone, as if she were embarrassed, "when I hear about it, I was a little worried. But Neji-niisan, he tell—told me that there is nothing to worry. There are the guards here now."

A little confidence booster couldn't do any harm.

Poppy nodded and leaned forward just a little. "Well, I don't mind telling you, my dear, that I was worried as well. But—your cousin, is it? Such a pretty name—is quite right. Professor Dumbledore knows what he's about. The thief didn't even get away with anything, Madam Pince says, and of course she'd know—I do believe that woman counts every book in the library before she goes to bed at night!" She laughed. Hinata smiled weakly. From what Neji had said, that was a _huge _library; well, maybe Madam Pince had a spell to help her…

She was almost relieved when the hospital wing door opened at last and a tall, hook-nosed man with lank black hair and flowing dark robes stepped inside. Poppy was a sweet woman, but she kept making jokes about things Hinata didn't understand, and she was hard-pressed to keep up with the flow of the conversation. Besides, it was obvious that the healer knew even less about the burglary than the ANBU did, and Hinata was ready for a new source of information.

But the visitor showed no inclination for conversation. "Forgive me for disturbing you, Poppy," he said in a cold, brusque voice, "but one of the abysmally clumsy students this morning knocked over my entire supply of aconite. I wondered if you might have any."

To Hinata's surprise, Poppy glanced at the calendar pinned to her wall before answering. "Ah," she said in a sad voice. "It's the full moon Monday night, that's right. Poor boy. I keep hoping someday…" She sighed. "Well, it will have to be a cleverer witch than me that comes up with the cure." She set her teacup down and pushed her chair away from the desk. "Just a moment, Severus, I believe there's some in the back…"

In a moment she was gone, bustling through the other door of the office into the store room beyond. Hinata stayed at the desk, feeling a little awkward in the visitor's presence. He seemed to be ignoring her, staring around the office with something of a permanent sneer on his face. He reminded Hinata of someone, although for the moment she could not guess who—but it was there in the locks of black hair framing his face, the cold dark eyes, the arrogant tilt of the head…

Her own mother-of-pearl eyes narrowed suddenly. She'd remembered.

And she kept her gaze fixed on the hook-nosed man and her hands folded into the first seal for the Byakugan beneath the desk until Poppy returned with a jar of the herb. The man accepted his aconite without a word of thanks and stalked out.

"Poppy," Hinata said as soon as the door had closed behind him, "who is that?"

"Mmm?" Poppy said. She was looking at the calendar again, and she tore her eyes away from her perusal of the little sparkling moon-cycles glimmering in silver paint. "Oh. Professor Severus Snape, dear; he teaches Potions."

"Is he…always like that?" Hinata asked hesitantly. She was thinking of henge, and one dangerous man masquerading as another, and if she should mention her vague suspicions to her teammates and, if so, how. But Poppy misunderstood.

"Oh, he's generally a little more polite," she said. "But of course brewing the Wolfsbane Potion for Professor Lupin would put him in a foul mood, it's a nasty potion and Severus has never liked Remus anyway…"

"Wolfsbane?" Hinata asked.

The Healer blinked at her. "Why yes, dear, didn't you know? Professor Lupin is a werewolf."

-

"So what's a werewolf?" Naruto asked after dinner that night. The four ANBU had gathered in the common room of their suite, leaving four of Naruto's kage bunshin to patrol the castle and deal with any trouble. The Kyuubi vessel himself was crouched on the hearthstone, prodding the fire with an iron poker; something in him seemed both calmed and excited by the sight and smell of the leaping flames. Behind him, Shikamaru stretched out on his back on the hearthrug, arms folded beneath his head, dark eyes half-hidden by lazily drooping lids. Neji had laid claim to one of the armchairs and was alternating between muttering English verb conjugations and swearing at his Divination books (and, from what little Naruto could make out, at pesky students, especially those of the female variety who went so far as to spy on their teachers in the library). Neither of them, Naruto thought darkly, seemed to be paying much attention.

At least Hinata was—but then, she was the one who'd brought the news. The kunoichi sat in the other armchair with an English dictionary spread out on her knees and a crease drawing her dark brows together. She turned a page and frowned even more deeply. "This isn't helping much. It only says a werewolf is a mythical beast which changes from human to wolf at the full moon. Surely that's impossible, though. Perhaps Poppy-san was teasing me…"

"I don't think so," Naruto said slowly. His stomach tightened, and the memory of tired, lonely brown eyes and a strange, musky scent clawed at his mind. "There's something different about that man—Lupin. Not just how his chakra feels a little strange. He smells…" He flapped a hand uselessly in the air and then poked savagely at a burning log. The log cracked and fell in two flaming bits, sending a dazzling dance of sparks up the chimney.

Shikamaru spoke unexpectedly. "Hinata, check the books I left on the table. There should be one called _Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them. _It's a wizard book, not like that civilian dictionary." Dumbledore had explained that non-magic people were called Muggles here in England, but none of the ANBU could help thinking of them as civilians, outsiders to a ninja's life. Although, come to think of it, the wizards here were all civilians as well. Naruto still couldn't believe how easily Shikamaru had caught that creeping boy two nights ago. Didn't anyone teach these children _anything_?

"The red one?" Naruto could hear Hinata pushing books aside, then returning to her chair and flipping pages again. "_Basilisk…Lethifold…Manticore…Unicorn…_ah, _Werewolf." _She read in silence for perhaps five minutes. When she spoke again, her voice was oddly flat.

"Naruto, what did the Kyuubi feel like when you met Lupin-san?"

All three of the young men tensed involuntarily. Naruto felt the sudden weight of stares on his back. He shrugged, scowling at the fire. He'd been hoping she wouldn't ask this—he could count on one hand the number of times they'd brought up the subject of Naruto's uninvited resident during their years together as a team—but he couldn't blame her. Especially since the Kyuubi had, indeed, reacted.

"Restless," he said, rocking back on his heels and tracing a careful spiral on the hearthstone with the charcoaly tip of the poker. "A little wary. He doesn't know what it is, but he recognizes something. They're both predators. Kyuubi…" He paused, listening within himself, as he had learned to do over the past seven years of his cognizant coexistence with the imprisoned kitsune. "Kyuubi thinks there's something inside Lupin as well."

Hinata exhaled a long breath. "That would make sense," she said. "A great deal of sense. Especially if what they call a werewolf is something like what we call a jinchuuriki."

Shikamaru sat up abruptly. "Let me see that book," he said. He was silent for a few minutes, poring over it in turn, then shook his head and handed it over his shoulder to Neji. "That description doesn't seem like a jinchuuriki—at least the method of transmission is completely different. But the bit about a werewolf in its transformed state—"

"What does it say?" Naruto didn't bother turning; compared to the others his English reading skills were practically nonexistent. He wouldn't be able to read the book even if they handed it to him.

Neji read aloud, translating from the English in a slow, halting voice and with frequent recourse to the Japanese-English dictionary he'd picked up in the library after the first day of school. "The werewolf lives all over the world, but people think it…started?…in northern Europe. People only become werewolves when they're bitten by one. There is no cure, but, hmm, new potions… _alleviate the worst symptoms, _whatever that means." He flipped through the dictionary again. "Make it less bad, I guess. Once a month, when the moon is full, the…otherwise normal and healthy wizard or civilian becomes a savage beast. Unlike…other magical creatures, the werewolf hunts humans…more than any other kind of prey." He stopped and took a deep breath. "That's it."

The four ANBU sat in silence for a long moment. Naruto stared back into the fire, seeing a kitsune's nine lashing tails in the dancing flames, a tanuki's murderous rage in the hungry devouring of the logs. Gaara had been worse at the full moon, too…

He shoved himself to his feet, automatically checking the binding of his shuriken holster and the fit of his arm-guards. His borrowed wand was still tucked under his left arm-guard from the day's patrolling, and his mask hung with the others from a hook by the door. He snagged it but let his cloak lie.

"'m going out," he muttered. "Don't worry about patrol tonight. The kage bunshin and I'll take care of it."

"Naruto," Hinata began, but Neji cut her off.

"Watch out. The full moon's tomorrow night. This close…" He trailed off meaningfully.

"Yeah," Naruto said, and snapped his mask down over his face. "I'll be careful."

-

Hermione had, predictably, fussed at length about sneaking through the halls after curfew; but as Harry pointed out to her, "You and Ron are prefects; you can be out as long as you want. I'll just stay under my Cloak and keep quiet." And as Ron pointed out, "C'mon, Hermione, we've done this going on six years—you can't get cold feet _now!"_

"Harry got caught last time he went to see Professor Lupin, though," Hermione argued. "Don't you think—"

"No," Ron said. "That's your job, remember?"

But they got moving in the end, with Hermione and Ron walking side-by-side as if they were just ordinary prefects patrolling the halls (even if they had foreign guards to do it now, Ron planned to argue that you could never have too many), and Harry creeping silently behind them under his Invisibility Cloak. It was nearly midnight; the halls on the way to Lupin's office were dark and cold, and although they stopped at every corner to scan their section in the Marauder's Map, no one seemed to be about. They had checked the map thoroughly before they left Gryffindor Tower. Two of the guards were patrolling the first floor, one was in the Owlery, and one was heading down the stairs from the fifth floor. They all, Ron noted with interest, bore the same little set of symbols that had been repeated three times last night. What had happened to the other one?

They paused at another corner, and Hermione hissed under her breath, "Are you _sure _there's no one around, Harry? I mean, if the guard could sense you last time—"

"There's no one in this section of the map," Harry's weary voice said for the seventh time. "C'mon, Hermione, we _are _being careful this time and it's only another few—cripes, what's _that?_"

"What's what?" Ron demanded, whipping out his wand and spinning to peer into the darkness. "Blimey, Harry, don't do that…"

But Harry wasn't listening. A hand appeared out of empty air and grabbed Ron's wrist; in another moment Harry had pulled both of them under the Cloak with him and was jabbing at the map with his wand. "Look! Someone just turned the corner onto this section of the map, and look _there…_"

_There _was a row of high mullioned windows around the corner from their current spot, just outside of their line of vision. A tiny dotted line had appeared where once the line marking the windows had been solid, and three little sets of symbols had popped into the corridor. None of them were familiar.

And the person who had just stepped into their section of the map bore the same unreadable label they had seen on all four of the guards tonight.

Harry and Ron exchanged quick glances. Harry's eyes were bright and his mouth was set; Ron could feel his own pulse rising in excitement. Between them, Hermione paled. "Oh, no you don't—"

"We can't just wait here, Hermione!" Ron argued in a low whisper. "I mean, if three people just broke into the castle—"

"You don't know they've broken in!" Hermione disagreed. "And anyway, even if they have, that's what the guard's for—"

Around the corner, a woman screamed. Harry's jaw clenched. A heartbeat later, he'd torn the Invisibility Cloak off and was pelting down the hall, wand at the ready and Ron on his heels. Ron threw another quick glance over his shoulder as he whipped around the corner, and was irrationally pleased to see Hermione, tight-lipped and furious, right behind him.

The next moment he'd smashed straight into Harry's back, and all three of them tumbled crashing to the floor.

Harry was the first one up; his Quidditch reflexes had saved him more than once in his confrontations with Dark Magic, and he'd dragged Ron and Hermione to the wall and to shelter behind an enormous statue of Herbert the Horrendous before Ron had even got his breath back. "Stay _still!_" he hissed, and immediately disobeyed his own order by peering around the statue. Still wheezing, Ron pushed himself to his knees and leaned over Harry's shoulder.

"Bloody _hell,_" he murmured in reverent awe.

The blond guard stood bare-handed in the center of the corridor perhaps ten meters to the right of the three students, his silvery armor and fair hair glinting in the moonlight that slanted in through the broken windows. To his left, an Elizabethan lady was running shrieking through the other portraits and away from her painting, which was slashed as savagely as the Fat Lady's had been three years ago. Ron spotted a knife and two steely star-like weapons embedded in the torn canvas.

Hermione's agile mind had already calculated their source. She tapped Ron's shoulder and pointed to the windows. "There," she whispered, her breath brushing his ear. Ron's stomach tightened. Unsure if it was nerves or hormones, he tried to ignore it and looked in the direction she had pointed.

Three black-clad shapes were framed against the moonlit glass. Two of them didn't seem much taller than Harry, perhaps a little shorter than Ron, but the third was nearly as big as Hagrid. He, like the guard, was bare-handed; steel glinted between the others' fingers.

One of the short ones said something in an ugly, low voice. It took Ron a moment to realize that the reason he couldn't understand it wasn't because the voice was so low or the tone so harsh; it was because the man was speaking a completely different language, one Ron had never in his life heard. Hermione, though, gave a little gasp of recognition. "_That _explains—" she whispered.

"Sssh!" Harry said frantically, but it was already too late. Four heads had turned as Hermione gasped, and the man who had spoken took a single step toward the statue.

He never took a second.

The guard moved so fast that even Ron, accustomed to watching the blinding blurs of a Quidditch match, could barely tell what was happening. One hand dove to a small case on his leg and came up filled with steel; the other hand, outstretched, filled with a whirling ball of blue energy. Within the time it took the black-clad man to throw the handful of small knives he clutched, another rain of throwing knives had already left the guard's fingers, and both sets of weapons clattered useless to the ground. The guard was behind them, and with a terrible shout that sounded like "_RASENGAN!"_ he shoved the spinning blue ball into the intruder's chest.

The black-clad man flew thirty meters backwards and hit the wall with a horrible crunch. He lay in a limp pool of shadow and did not move.

Hermione's fingers clenched hard on Ron's shoulder. She made a choking sound low in her throat, but none of the three students dared move. They watched wide-eyed as the guard turned on the other two men, head thrown back and painted mask leering horribly. His shoulders rose slightly as he panted. Ron spotted a swirling dark red tattoo on the left shoulder that rippled with the muscles beneath it as the guard held out his hand again. Once more, whirling blue energy filled his palm, lighting the corridor with its terrible brilliance.

The remaining two intruders shrank back a step, but in a moment the big one's hands were twisting together, and the second short one lunged at the guard with a shout and a spray of knives and throwing stars.

Steel hit the guard almost at the same time as the short man did, spraying blood across the walls. Hermione gasped again in horror, and even Ron and Harry caught their breath. But the short man's gleeful grin suddenly changed to wide-eyed horror, as he crashed to the ground along with a heavy vase that Ron had last seen on a pedestal beside the window.

The guard was there now, holding a single knife backwards in his right hand. He sent it flying with an almost casual flick of his wrist, and the short man on the floor jolted and gasped as the rounded hilt struck him in the back of the head. He twitched once and then lay limp, unconscious.

Only the big man was left, and he turned slowly to face the guard still crouched on the pedestal with the blue ball spinning in his left hand. The big man's hands were twisted together in some strange configuration Ron couldn't quite make out, and he snarled something in a deep, savage voice.

The guard's head tilted to the side. He replied in a quick, light tenor in which amusement seemed to war with annoyance. He added something else and lifted his left hand, his masked face inclining slightly towards the whirling blue ball in his hand. The big intruder sneered, and the guard shrugged. His right hand dove for the holster on his leg again.

But this time, as the rain of steel filled the air, the big man plunged his fists into the stone floor and shouted something else. With a shock that nearly jolted Ron off his knees, a wall of stone half a meter thick erupted out of the floor, shielding its creator from the guard's knives. The intruder laughed.

The guard laughed too. And, still laughing, he vaulted off the pedestal, flipped over the stone wall with one hand, and drove the other hand, bright with blue light, into the big man's back.

Hermione didn't quite bite back her scream, and Ron didn't quite bite back the bile that swelled in his throat as he watched the blue ball in the guard's hand drive its spinning way straight through the big man's back, spewing blood and flesh and shards of bone in all directions. At least he managed to pull away from the other two before his stomach rebelled and he lost his dinner all over the floor. From the sounds he could vaguely hear over his own retching, at least one of his friends was having the same reaction.

Another thought struck at about the same time the violent spasms stopped. He wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve and spun around again, groping for his wand, searching in blind terror for the guard. Dumbledore's words at the feast rang through his head: "_They would appreciate if you did nothing to put them on their guard, as they are more likely to kill you than deal with you alive…_"

The other two seemed to have had the same thought. Harry was already on his feet again, wand outstretched in a shaky hand. Hermione was on her knees behind him, biting her lip and trembling in every muscle as she, too, extended her wand. Ron pushed himself to his feet and ran the two steps to stand with them, facing the guard.

Who merely tilted his head, watching them from behind that expressionless mask. His hands, Ron noticed with a lurch of his stomach, were still clean, although his left hand seemed to be smoking slightly, and there were a few streaks of blood in his blond hair. He nudged a sandaled foot into the ribs of the short man he'd knocked out with the throwing knife, and seemed slightly heartened when the man groaned faintly but did not stir.

"Who," Harry demanded in a shaky voice, "_are _you?"

The guard lifted his hand, and all three young wizards tensed. But the hand went only to the back of the guard's head, and he scratched his blond hair with something like a proud shrug.

"Guard," he said, in heavily-accented English. "Protect Hoguwaatsu. Name?" He seemed to consider for a moment. Finally he said, "_Toad._" He tapped his mask.

Ron blinked in surprise, but Hermione whispered, "Of course, the mask's a toad!"

"Ah," Ron said faintly.

"You?" the guard said.

Ron glanced at the other two doubtfully. Harry shrugged. "I'm Harry Potter," he said. "This is Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger."

"Ah, Harii-kun!" the guard said, sounding delighted. "You meet Deer, yes?"

A faint hint of red touched Harry's cheeks. "Yes," he said defiantly.

Toad nodded. "In office of _jinchuuriki._"

"You mean Professor Lupin?" Hermione said cautiously. "We were actually going to talk to him when—"

She stopped. Harry said quickly, "When we heard the portrait scream and came running. How did they get in? What did they want?"

The guard's head tilted again. But instead of replying, he glanced down at his unconscious prisoner and then looked down the hall to the right, where the painted lady had run. "People come. Teachers. You go. Trouble."

Harry blinked. "You mean—you're trying to keep us _out _of trouble—?"

Toad waved a dismissive hand. "Go bed. I talk later. Find you easy."

"But—" Hermione said, as Ron tugged at her arm. He couldn't hear the footsteps yet, but he was willing to trust the guard—what other adult in Hogwarts would ever have offered them this chance?

The guard's voice sharpened. "Go bed _now._" His right hand dipped towards the holster on his leg.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione didn't need any more encouragement. They turned and fairly fled back up the hall, pausing in their break-neck running only once they were safely back in front of the portrait hole to Gryffindor Tower.

"Well," Hermione said at last in a stiff voice as they clambered through the hole, "I hope you boys are satisfied. We could have gotten _killed!_"

"He wasn't that bad, though," Harry said in something of a surprised voice. "Not nearly as stern as the one who caught me outside Lupin's office last night." He glanced at Ron. "What'd you think?"

"I think," Ron said fervently, "he was _wicked._"


	5. In Which Harry Gets a Shock

Disclaimer: We do not own _Naruto_ or _Harry Potter._ If we did, HP would have ninja. Because ninja make everything that much cooler. Aurors would also wear ANBU-y uniforms, because the sexiness factor just makes it that much better. Although, can you imagine Mad-Eye in an ANBU uniform? Yes? So can we. All too well.

Moving on.

Authors' Notes: Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! You made us squiggle happily and squeal like the fangirls we are. And many, many thanks to our lovely beta Phoenix of Eternity, who has put up with way too many crazy ideas and "Uh…maybe?" answers to count. **Finally, special thanks to UE, who broke the 100-review barrier.** Because we, like Naruto, like surprises, we're giving UE the special surprise of a drabble of her choice from either of us. Contact us by livejournal (links in our user profiles) for more information and to place your request, UE.

A note on pairings and the like. We really appreciate all the support we've been getting for this being a genfic (rawr, genfic!). But we do like us some pairings, and while they aren't a focus, we'll probably be dropping hints to pairings we enjoy. Whether anything comes of these or not, we'll have fun letting you guys try to pick our brains and find the various couples.

Furthermore, Kilerkki has noticed that she's had a lot more publicity from this story, and she thanks you all. However, remember that link no miko is doing just as much (maybe more?) of the work, and that Kilerkki is a huge fan of hers. Check out her stuff as well!

That said, thank you all so much for your support, and we hope we don't disappoint!

* * *

Masks and Shadows

Chapter Five:

In Which Harry Gets a Shock and Everyone Gets Some Answers

Naruto swore that the room hadn't been there when he patrolled this area two nights ago, but there it was: dark, gloomy, and damp, but surprisingly clean, off a narrow corridor on the seventh floor. Neji picked his way between various torture implements, ANBU mask firmly in place as he lined up with Naruto and the four Heads of Houses. Sitting before them, strapped to a chair, was the young ninja Naruto had just captured a few hours earlier.

"Severus, if you please," McGonagall said, and the severe-looking, dark-haired man stepped forward, holding his wand out and saying something in a language Neji had never heard. In the chair, the missing-nin stirred groggily.

"We're lucky he didn't kill _all_ of the intruders," Snape said darkly, glaring at Naruto, and Neji's eyes narrowed beneath the mask. He didn't appreciate the way the teacher talked, but he had to agree—Naruto had gone rather overboard according to the rules of this place. The point was to fit in as much as possible and finish their mission as quickly as they could, not to cause problems.

Besides, Neji could have done the job quicker and quieter than his blond teammate any day.

The prisoner stirred again, and Neji went to take a step toward him when McGonagall stopped him, a hand on his shoulder. Neji shook off the contact and turned tolook at the elderly witch, displeasure radiating off him in waves.

"What?"

Her lips were pursed tightly together. "You will let us handle this."

"Why?"

McGonagall's lips tightened as she shot a glare at Naruto. "Because your methods leave much to be desired. And while we have hired you for protection, this is still our school…" The rest of what she said turned into a mass of large words to Neji. He thought he heard the word for "responsible," but wasn't quite sure. As it was, the first half of the sentence took a few moments to translate. Unlike Dumbledore, she did not speak slowly or concisely.

"How will you learn from him?" Neji finally asked, arms folded over his chest. "He is trained not to talk. You will learn no things."

The elderly witch looked back at the other teachers with her; the short one named Flitwick shook his head helplessly while the plump Sprout bit her bottom lip. Only Snape kept a neutral expression. Finally McGonagall seemed to come to a decision and turned back to Neji.

"We will use—"

Neji blinked, the unfamiliar word echoing in his mind. Veriterism? Baseritism? He had no idea what it was or why the two genial-looking teachers cast disapproving glances at each other, but he didn't believe for a moment it would work.

"But Minerva," Sprout said, taking a step forward, "without Albus here—"

"I will take full responsibility for its use," McGonagall said over top of the plump witch's words, staring straight at Snape. Neji realized he was right to think she'd used that term earlier. "As Deputy Headmistress, I have that right."

Snape nodded and turned, leaving the room quickly. As the door shut behind him, Neji shook his head and McGonagall cast him a scathing glance. "You disapprove?"

"It will not work. You do not know ninja. We do. We know how to asking the questions."

McGonagall bristled. "While you are within this castle, you will follow the rules we have set down."

"Rules do not help with this."

"Minerva," Flitwick began, but she held up a hand, gaze trying to bore a hole in Neji's mask.

"You will follow our rules. If, for some reason, the--" she said the word again, and once again Neji could not understand it, "doesn't work, then we will allow you the chance to question the prisoner. If, and _only_ if, it does not work."

Neji turned his head slightly see what Naruto thought, but the blond just shook his head slowly. More than likely he had understood none of what McGonagall had said. Sighing in frustration that he was stuck in such a place, Neji finally nodded.

"I agree."

McGonagall nodded curtly, the matter settled, and they waited until the door to the room opened and the black-haired teacher entered, pulling a vial from his robes and handing it to McGonagall. Neji pulled short, watching quietly. Naruto, on the other hand, was not so quiet.

"What that?"

Snape rounded on him, expression harsh. "What?"

Naruto pointed to the vial. "What that? No help."

"That," Snape said coldly, "is—"

Neji sighed as the word was used again. The word was hard to pronounce, with nothing like it in his own language to help him make sense of it. He made a mental note to check one of the books Shikamaru was always reading and to see what, exactly, the strange word was.

"What does it do?" Naruto asked, earning the dark-haired teacher's scathing look himself, but it was the tiny teacher—Flitwick, Neji remembered—who answered.

"It makes someone always tell the truth. They can't hide any of their thoughts."

As the words registered, Neji's eyes narrowed and he cast a glare at McGonagall. Well that was a rather stupid tactic. Did the woman actually think that would work? All ninja were trained to conceal their thoughts and objectives. How could one little vial of a drink with an impossible name destroy years of training? Neji was right when he'd told her they didn't understand the nature of ninja.

"It won't work," he said calmly, nodding towards the missing-nin as the teachers all looked at him incredulously. "They trained to hide thoughts." Although, guessing at this ninja, he could barely be at a chuunin level, but still.

"Regardless," McGonagall began, giving Neji a stern look, "this is how we do things." Neji had trouble following what she said next, but distinctly heard the words "violent ways" and saw her give a nasty look to Naruto. And while he was sure the other ANBU had understood less than him, Neji still noticed the blond man fidget slightly. He'd gotten quite an earful earlier about his "violent ways," and while they hadn't been able to follow that speech either, the elderly woman's tone was enough to let the men know how she felt.

"And even more so, we made an agreement," McGonagall finished, turning from the two ninja.

So Neji watched silently as McGonagall gave the vial back to Snape. He forced a few drops of the liquid down the nin's throat and stepped back, waiting patiently. The young ninja's head lolled to the side and his eyes glassed over as he stared out at the six people before him.

McGonagall took a step forward, robes swishing around her, expression stern. She eyed the prisoner for only a second before breaking directly into her questions, repeating one after the other.

"Who are you? How did you get in here? Who sent you? What were you after?"

Neji tried not to scoff. Not only did he find this to be a pointless interrogation tactic, he highly doubted the man knew enough English to be able to answer. McGonagall was undermining their agreement on her own—she didn't need the strange liquid to help her.

But the man before them shuddered, slack expression tightening for an instant as he fought the effects of the potion before his muscles loosened once again. "Chakra… walls…" he said suddenly, in very broken English. His glassy eyes darkened again though, and he clamped his mouth shut before he could say something else.

"Slower," Neji said suddenly, drawing the elderly witch's attention. "Too many question at once. Hard to understand. Not very good way to ask."

McGonagall bristled slightly but nodded. Turning back to the prisoner, she took a deep breath and tried again.

"Who are you?"

"No, not that. That he won't answer," Neji interrupted again, nodding his masked head towards the prisoner, who was still fighting with the potion. "No ninja will give up his name easy."

The witch paused and then nodded grudgingly. From the way she pursed her lips, though, Neji was sure that while she would agree he was correct on that point, she didn't appreciate his interruptions.

"Who sent you?"

The man groaned, head lolling to the side as his mouth opened and closed silently. "Name… No name… Dark." His eyes darkened again and his expression tightened, but only for a second.

This was not going well. The teachers were becoming frustrated because the liquid didn't seem to be working. The ninja were becoming frustrated because they had known it wouldn't work from the beginning. But McGonagall refused to back down and let Neji take over.

"Were there others with you?"

"Four… Lake…monster…"

Neji raised an eyebrow. It made sense for them to be a four-man team, but what was this about a monster in the lake? From the looks the teachers gave each other though, they seemed to understand perfectly. And so McGonagall pressed on.

"What are you after?"

The man's glassy eyes widened, expression moving between taut and slack so fast Neji thought the man would bite his own tongue off soon. But McGonagall refused to back down, repeating the question over and over again until the man was nearly thrashing in his seat.

"Severus, Filius, please calm him!" The two teachers hurried towards the prisoner, but Naruto and Neji were there first, the blond holding the man from behind, Neji standing before the elder witch.

"Our turn now."

"But…"

Neji shook his head. "We make agreement. Your way not working. Our turn now."

McGonagall stared at him, lips pursed tightly, but after a few moments she held out a hand and Snape and Flitwick stopped where they were.

"Very well. But I will not condone any act of violence or torture, and neither does this school."

Neji didn't know exactly what the word "condone" meant, but could take a good enough guess. The Hyuuga nodded politely and turned back to the prisoner. As much as these wizard people might hope, no liquid was going to make interrogation of a ninja work. It took another ninja, one who knew the way they thought, who knew what drove them, to break their will.

Neji was ANBU. Best of the best, one of the elite ninja of Konohagakure no Sato.

He knew _exactly_ how to break another ninja's will, and he wasn't going to let these civilians' sensibilities stop him.

It only took a few minutes for McGonagall to call a halt, her voice rough and coarse as she yelled. Neji paused, looking over his shoulder. The prisoner stopped screaming as his torturer's attention was drawn away, and Neji saw the plump witch shudder uncontrollably. Beside her, Flitwick patted her hand gently before leading her out of the room.

"Stop this at once!"

Neji saw Naruto's head tilt out of the corner of his eye, but ignored the blond ninja. He'd explain what was going on later.

"We made agreement."

McGonagall glared at him, although behind her, Snape nodded. "I also said that I will not condone torture!"

"What did you think we would do? Ask questions when we get no answer?"

"Yes!"

Neji stared at her, the prisoner all but forgotten for the moment. Across from him, McGonagall had pulled out her wand, the tip pointed straight at Neji's heart. He knew she would do nothing serious against him—her displeasure at what Neji was doing was enough proof of that—but he knew enough to be wary. He took a step away from the prisoner, intending to make his position perfectly clear, but Snape chose that moment to step forward, placing a hand on the witch's shoulder. Leaning down, he spoke softly and quietly, and Neji bristled that he could follow none of it.

When Snape pulled away though, McGonagall lowered her hand, although she continued to glare, not only at Neji, but at Snape as well. However, the fight seemed to have drained from her and she turned sharply on her heel, sparing only a quick glance back before she reached the door.

"Professor Snape has agreed to watch over the questioning," her eyes narrowed, "and to make sure you do nothing more than you need to. However," and she shot Neji a look that promised severe repercussions, "you, the Headmaster, and I will be discussing this later."

The door slammed shut loudly behind her, and Naruto flinched. Neji gave Snape a look from beneath the mask, but the black-haired teacher simply leaned against the wall, expression as neutral as ever.

Behind him, the prisoner groaned softly, and Neji returned his attention to his task.

When it was over, when the missing-nin's screams had finally stopped and he lay slumped in his chair, unconscious, only then did Neji allow himself a smile beneath the mask. Behind the chair, Naruto backed away, no longer needed to help hold the prisoner down. Behind Neji, Snape pulled away from the wall and opened the door, waiting for the two ANBU to leave. His expression gave away nothing as Neji and Naruto passed, but his eyes gave off an uneasy feeling.

But Neji didn't care. They'd found their answer in the man's last breath before he'd passed out. Found out exactly what these ninja had been sent for.

_Bijuu._

-

Shikamaru was waiting in their rooms, flipping through the book Dumbledore had let him borrow when Neji and Naruto returned. He glanced up at them but said nothing, giving no second thought to the small splatters of blood in Naruto's hair or on Neji's hands.

"Long night?" Shikamaru asked casually as Naruto pulled his Toad mask off and hung it on the hook before collapsing in a chair. Neji nodded before removing his own mask and heading towards the bathroom. The gurgle of running water reached the other two ninja a few seconds later.

When Neji finished, walking out and drying his hands on a towel, Shikamaru set the book down. It was hard reading, but he'd managed to get through a small chunk of pages over the night. Unfortunately, he still hadn't found out anything that might give him a clue to what the bijuu was or where it was sealed.

"What'd you guys find out?"

"I got in a fight with three ninja. Killed two of 'em and captured the third," Naruto said simply as Neji sat down. "We just got done interrogating him."

"And?"

"None of them had hitai-ate, but one of them used a _Doton_ jutsu, so I'm guessing they might be missing-nin from Stone." Naruto hurried on when Shikamaru just kept staring at him. "Oh! And uh, I got yelled at for making a mess and had to dispose of the bodies. That McGonagall lady is really mean when she wants to be."

Shikamaru sighed. "No, I meant, what did you learn from the captured ninja?"

"We found out some rather interesting things, actually, once the civilians allowed us to take over," Neji said from his place across from Naruto. "They're after the bijuu as well."

"Figures," Shikamaru muttered, leaning forward, fingers steepled together. "We already suspected as such. What else did you learn?"

"There's a monster in the lake," Naruto supplied, his voice slurred and half-asleep. Neji and Shikamaru gave him the look they reserved for when he said something stupid. Although in this case, Shikamaru had to admit to himself, knowing there was something in the lake _was_ rather helpful.

"Only three managed to reach the castle—their fourth man was eaten, apparently," Neji continued. "McGonagall never bothered to ask, but I found out they broke through the protections using translocation. After that, wall-climbing through use of chakra allowed them to enter through a window."

"Where, I take it, they met up with Naruto." Shikamaru smirked. "Poor them. What else did you learn?"

Neji frowned slightly. "Not much else. The man was sent, obviously. Described his boss as having no name but as being 'dark'."

"Which leaves us with nothing, really." Shikamaru sighed and resisted the urge to rub his temples. Why could things never be _simple_? "This is a pain in the ass."

"Regardless, if the enemy ninja are already attacking this soon after our arrival…"

Shikamaru nodded. "I know, I know. Dammit. There's nothing for it but to keep an extra sharp eye out. Until I can figure out exactly where the bijuu is, there's not much we can do besides guard the castle."

Neji nodded and leaned back. His eyes darted around the room before resting on Shikamaru again. "Where's Hinata-sama?"

"Sleeping."

"We should let her know what we've found out." Neji stood. "I'll be back."

Shikamaru watched the older Hyuuga leave and leaned back in his chair. Across from him, Naruto's head was lolling to the side and his eyes were almost completely closed.

Sighing, the genius ninja picked up the ancient book and flipped to where he'd ended. He'd read a few more pages and allow himself a nap.

Yes, a nap sounded very good right now, and Naruto's snores weren't helping matters any.

Grumbling to himself, Shikamaru chucked a throw pillow at Naruto's head, smiling slightly when the blond ninja let out a muffled gasp. If only it was that easy to translate the damn book, they'd have finished their mission and been home by now.

-

Harry and Ron followed an almost bouncy Hermione to the library after dinner Thursday night, giving each other long-suffering glances along the way. Sure, Harry wanted to find out as much about those strange guards as she did, but…to be _that_ happy about it?

"Sometimes, you just have to smile and nod," Ron had said earlier at dinner, when she'd announced they'd all be marching off to the Foreign Language section after eating. Harry just gave his best friend an incredulous look and Ron's ears had turned pink. "What? It's true."

"And when you start following it, I'll be sure to believe you," Harry'd said, making Ron's ears turn a darker shade. While Ron was a great friend, he tended to have a nastily obstinate streak, especially where Hermione was concerned. Harry suspected that it would take at least two rows before there would be any smiling and nodding, and that was being generous.

He couldn't deny that the trip to the library was needed, though. After their encounter with the blond guard last night, and once she'd calmed down some, Hermione had let them know she'd figured out the language the names were written in. Her previous foray into the library the other day, after Harry's encounter with Deer, had led to nothing—without knowledge of the language, she had no idea where to look.

"This is going to be boring, isn't it," Ron muttered sourly, earning himself a Look from Hermione. Harry grinned until she turned it on him.

"I'd ask you to take this seriously, but seeing who I'm talking to, I'd think it was a waste of breath."

"C'mon, Hermione, I was only joking." Ron leaned in towards Harry, voice low. "Except for the boring part."

"I heard that."

The library was as dull and mind numbing as ever, Harry thought sourly as Hermione led them towards the Foreign Language section. Once there, she pointed them in the direction of certain books, grabbing some herself and finding them a spot on a small circular table. When she was settled, she pulled out her paper with the carefully copied names and set it beside her.

"So," Ron asked as he sat down, dropping two books onto the table before him, "what're we looking for again?"

"We're looking for Japanese," she said simply, already poring through a book. Ron sighed and gave Harry a pleading look, but the other boy just shook his head and set his own books down, opening the one on the top and beginning to browse.

He wasn't far along when he was stopped by Hermione's frustrated growl.

"What's wrong?"

"There are three alphabets," she said quickly, not lifting her head to look at them. Ron groaned. "We'll just have to figure out which one these are written in, first."

"Why in blazes would someone need three alphabets? That's rather daft, isn't it?"

"Complaining about it won't make this any easier, Ron." Hermione sighed and then looked up, dragging the paper she'd written on towards the boys. "Here, help me figure out which one these are written in."

Harry bit back a sigh and did as she told, looking between the chart of the three alphabets in his book and her handwriting. But even though she'd written the words carefully, he was still having difficulties comparing.

"This isn't going to work, sorry, Hermione," he said, reaching into his pocket. Next to him, Ron looked around, making sure no one was coming, then nodded his head. With a tap of his wand and a hastily whispered "_I solemnly swear I am up to no good_," all three of them leaned over to watch as the Marauder's Map magically appeared on the parchment.

"Okay, now we just have to find one of them," Harry muttered, scanning the small labeled dots for the strange characters. He checked the room on the third floor first, but it was empty. _Naturally._

"Oh, here's one," Ron said happily, pointing. Two heads swiveled to look where he pointed. "It's not that one that we saw repeated, but it's one of the two matching ones."

Hermione frowned. "Ron, that's right down the hall from…" She stopped, eyes widening, and looked up quickly just as the dot reached a door and walked through it. Without canceling the spell, Harry folded up the map and hid it under one of his books as Professor Hyuuga entered the library, white eyes glowing eerily in the candlelight.

"Hah, I knew it!" Ron whispered triumphantly, earning a glare from Hermione and a kick to the shins from Harry.

The Divination teacher ignored them as he walked up to the counter, setting his books down and saying something quietly to Madam Pince. All three students craned their necks to hear, and Harry nearly fell backwards when Hyuuga turned around sharply, blank eyes looking right at him. Ron and Hermione's faces quickly disappeared into books.

_He's as good as Snape is at staring_, Harry thought, a chill creeping up his spine. Eventually though, the feel of the black-haired man's eyes went away, and Harry relaxed muscles he hadn't known were tensed.

"…Is he gone yet?" Ron whispered a few moments later, daring to peek over his book.

"Not sure," Harry said, just as quietly, eyes firmly glued to the book before him. "But I don't feel him staring anymore."

"He's back in the Divination section," Hermione whispered. "I can see him through the shelves." The two boys let out long sighs, and Ron dropped his book onto the table. "Ron! Don't mistreat the books!"

Harry tugged the Marauder's Map out quickly, unfolding it just enough so they could see the library. Hermione took the Map, her face so close her nose was touching.

"This first part of his name, I haven't seen it at all in any of these charts, so I'm guessing it's the third alphabet. But after it…" She pulled away and pointed to the first symbol in the second set, keeping her voice as low as she possibly could and still allowing for the boys to hear. "That looks like this alphabet, the katakana one. So try to find these two symbols, okay?"

"But we already know his name," Ron said, eyebrows drawn together. "Neji Hyuuga, remember?"

"I know that," Hermione snapped. "But if I'm right and his name is in katakana, the other names all looked like they were written in the same blocky alphabet. So we can focus our search to just katakana instead of going between the other two."

Harry had to admit she had a point, whether or not Ron looked pleased about it. He had just found the first character (which was indeed _ne_), when a sound behind him made him jump. Across from him, Hermione had already hidden the Marauder's Map.

"You."

Craning his neck, Harry caught sight of long black hair and white clothes, and his heart sped up. _Please don't let him have seen the map…_

"Yes?" Hermione answered, voice almost steady.

Hyuuga watched her carefully, as though thinking something over. "I saw you before. In here." His eyes narrowed.

Hermione didn't miss a beat, although her shoulders seemed slightly more tense than normal. "I'm here often, yes."

Harry would have been surprised at the way she seemed to be giving a teacher attitude, but he knew how she felt about all things Divination. He was fighting down a smirk when Hyuuga leaned over, hands slapping hard against the table. Even Harry jumped slightly in his seat. The air around them crackled coldly, and a faint glow outlined the man's hands. Harry barely had time to blink before the glow faded away and something like an electric shock sparked from the table to his hand. From their surprised gasps, he knew the same had happened to Ron and Hermione.

"Spying is not for students," Hyuuga said coldly, blank white eyes seeming to look right through the bushy-haired girl. "Do not do it again."

And as quickly as he'd appeared, he was gone, striding from the library with two books in his arms. Everything was silent but for the harsh rasp of their startled breathing.

Eventually though, Hermione found her voice. "I think we're done here now," she said quickly, chair scraping the floor as she stood and gathered up her books. Madam Pince looked over from her place behind the counter, giving Ron and Harry dirty looks as though they'd been the ones to make the noise. "You can put the other books back; we should be fine with this one."

Harry watched her take her book up to sign out, then helped Ron silently put the other ones away. When they finished, they met with Hermione beside the door and left for the common room.

As Ron gave the password and the Fat Lady opened up for them, Harry knew another trip to Professor Lupin's office was definitely in order.

-

Hinata padded through the halls, following closely behind Naruto as he led her towards the tower she'd been told belonged to the Gryffindor House. She wasn't quite sure why he'd come to grab her from their rooms, but she'd donned her mask and followed him without complaint.

When they finally reached their destination, Hinata looked around, confused. She'd never been to any of the House common rooms, but so far as she could tell, they were in an empty corridor, and she had no idea why Naruto was pointing at a picture of an overweight woman.

"Yes, Naruto-kun? What is it?"

His finger jabbed at the woman in the picture. "That, I need help with _that_."

Hinata eyed the picture and blinked in shock as the woman tried to swat Naruto's finger away. "N-Naruto-kun…?"

He noticed where she was looking and turned his head, and from the noise he made Hinata could guess he was snarling at the woman from beneath his mask. The overweight woman glared right back at him.

"I told you already," she said in English, "you can't get through without the password."

This time, Naruto's finger _did_ jab the painting, and the woman huffed indignantly. "See? She won't let me through and I have _no idea_ what she's saying!"

Hinata smiled softly behind the mask. "I'm afraid I don't know how to help, Naruto-kun." His face fell and she hurried on to explain. "She's asking for a password, but I don't know it. We'll have to ask McGonagall-san—"

Naruto shook his head emphatically, effectively cutting Hinata off. "Noooo, no no no. No asking her, she's pissed off enough at me and Neji as it is." Neji had explained the torture session to her—or at least, told her all the important details (she'd pieced the rest together with her own knowledge of how Neji dealt with questioning). Hinata wasn't surprised that McGonagall would be angry with the two ANBU.

"Well then, I'm not sure what to do…" She folded her arms beneath her breasts and regarded the painting a moment, then stepped forward and gently pushed Naruto away. "Excuse me," she said in slightly stilted English, "but may we pass?"

The woman gave her a look only slightly less scathing than the one she'd given Naruto. "No."

Hinata sighed. "We really need to get through, I'm afraid." She turned her head towards Naruto and continued in Japanese. "Why _do_ we need to get through?"

"Harry-kun lives in this House and I told him I'd talk to him soon. I have free time now, so why not?"

Hinata was tempted to point out the fact that the sun had long since set and there was no telling whether or not Harry was even still awake, but stopped herself short. Her mission was to find out all she could from the students in the hospital wing, and so far she hadn't been able to find out much. This was a great opportunity to find out things from the most danger-targeted student Hogwarts had to offer.

"Well, if you can't get in the normal way, why not just translocate?" He couldn't see her face, but she knew he could tell she was giving him her _You did something without thinking again, didn't you? _look. She could always read his body language, just as Neji could always read hers.

"Well…that would make sense…" Naruto muttered quietly, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. The overweight lady in the picture kept giving them dirty looks, and Hinata wasn't sure if it was because they were still there, or because they were speaking in another language, or both reasons together.

"Well, here goes!" Naruto began making the seals and Hinata followed suit quickly, and within seconds the world around them warped and blended together, and then suddenly they were standing on the other side of the door and three very surprised adolescents were jumping to their feet, arms outstretched and holding wands. A large cat fell off the lap of the girl and began to hiss and growl.

"Whoa, whoa!" Naruto held up his hands to show he was unarmed, and the dark-haired boy blinked before his eyes widened and he said something to the other two. They gave him odd looks but nodded and lowered the wands they'd been aiming at the two ninja's chests. One of Naruto's hands went up to scratch his hair as Hinata took the time to look around, noting the fireplace and the chairs and couch. She was pleased to note that the only students present were Harry and his friends.

"You… You're the one we saw before!" This time it was the red-haired one speaking, and Hinata glanced over to him quickly. He was pointing a finger at Naruto, and his face seemed to have lit up. Beside him, the bushy-haired girl sighed and rolled her eyes.

Naruto turned to Hinata, and from the way he stood, shoulders angled forward slightly and hands held limply at his sides, she knew he was feeling unsure. And then she realized that, more than helping him to get _into_ the common room, Naruto had needed her help with communicating with the children he'd promised to talk to. While it made the most sense he'd ask her and not their other two companions (Shikamaru would have declined due to laziness and Neji would have declined because he refused to be used like that), Hinata still felt happy Naruto had turned to her.

"Hi," Naruto finally said, his accent thick even to Hinata's ears. "I come. We talk." He glanced over at Hinata and she took a step closer so he could whisper: "You gotta help me, please, because they speak so fast I can't understand a word they say."

Hinata nodded. "Yes, I figured as much." His ears turned the slightest bit pink and she smiled. "What would you like to tell them?"

Movement from the trio caught her attention. The bushy-haired girl was saying something in a hushed tone to the red-haired boy, whose ears turned red. The dark-haired boy she assumed was Harry smirked and nodded at his friends, and then they were both shoving the taller red-head towards the two ninja.

"Um…um…" The boy sent a nasty glance back at his friends, but received no support. If Hinata wasn't so confused she would have smiled. Grumbling under his breath, the boy held out a sheet of paper and what looked like a feather towards Naruto. "Could you sign this please? You know, an--"

Hinata had no idea what an ottograf was, and from the way Naruto's shoulders slumped, he definitely didn't. But she was wary as the boy handed the paper and feather to Naruto, who simply held them.

"Hey," he whispered to her, "what am I supposed to do with it?"

"I think he wants you to sign it," she whispered back, eyes never fully leaving the trio of students. She couldn't understand what these children wanted with Naruto's signature, and from the way they were acting she didn't think it could be for anything good.

"Sign?" He chuckled softly and picked the feather up off the paper. There was a drop of ink where the tip had been setting, and Hinata realized the feather must be a pen of some sort. "I can do that."

Across from them, the bushy-haired girl's eyes shone and Hinata's skin prickled along the back of her neck. The children were _definitely_ up to something.

She turned back to Naruto to warn him and nearly gasped. Naruto had begun to write his actual name, but seemed to have noticed at the same time Hinata did and hurried to scratch it out, replacing it instead with the name "Toad" in very blocky and unsteady English letters. Finished, he nearly shoved the paper and pen into the red-haired boy's hands.

"Eh-heh…"

Hinata sighed quietly and turned her attention back to the three children. They really weren't all that much younger than her—no more than four years, at the most. She still couldn't seem to think of them as anything other than children, though.

"What did you want to ask?"

Harry took another step forward, and while he looked calm, he still held onto his wand. "Who are you guys? You don't act like wizards, you don't use wands, there's nothing about you that fits in with this school." He looked right at Naruto. "You fought those guys like they were nothing."

Hinata swallowed and bit her lip, suddenly understanding _exactly_ what Naruto had meant about how quickly these people spoke. And even though she couldn't see beneath his mask, Hinata knew Naruto was giving her his best pleading look.

"We are guards," she finally said, and from the way the three wizards twitched slightly, she knew they'd been expecting Naruto to speak. "Guards to keep you safe. That is all."

Harry shook his head. "No, that's not all. We know you're guards, but what _are_ you guys?"

Hinata stood firm, although her shoulders tensed slightly. There was no way she could explain to them who and what they were in any other way. Ninja guarded their secrets. "Guards. That is all."

"Then," the bushy-haired girl spoke up, "we'll accept that. But how do you fight without wands? What was that spinning thing Toad made to fight those people?" Naruto fidgeted and Hinata sent him a questioning look.

"Rasengan," he said simply.

"Yes, you said that," the girl continued, "right before you… Well, right before you killed those men. But it's no wizard's spell, not even dark magic."

"You used Rasengan?" Hinata asked her partner, and Naruto shrugged. "Why such a high-level jutsu?"

"Because I was trying to keep these three safe and get rid of the missing-nin as fast as possible. 'Sides, it's my specialty anyway."

"How should I answer them?"

Naruto shrugged. "However you want. I don't have any idea what they asked."

Hinata giggled softly and turned back to the confused-looking trio. "Rasengan is special," she said, changing over to English. "No need to worry." The three wizards cast glances between each other, but before they could ask anything else, Hinata began speaking again. "We have question for you now. Will you answer?"

Harry blinked, obviously taken aback, but the bushy-haired girl nodded that it was okay. "Uh yeah, sure."

Now came the hard part. She needed to know if they'd heard anything about a possible bijuu, but she couldn't ask outright. These children were smart and crafty, she could tell that much. If they suspected the ANBU were there for any other reason…

"Bad things happen here. Has bad things happen here before?"

Harry blinked and turned back to his friends, and it was the girl who answered. "Hogwarts has never been outright attacked like this, no."

Hinata bit her lip, arms folded beneath her breasts. "Like this" implied that Hogwarts could have been attacked in other ways. And if the bijuu was imprisoned on the grounds, could it have been the cause of an attack in previous years?

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked her quietly.

"I think they may have been involved with something about the bijuu… But I don't know how to ask if they have information about it without giving away our mission."

"Well…just ask if they've heard of a strange monster?"

Hinata shook her head. "No, we shouldn't, because then they'll know we're after something else. As far as they know, we're only here as bodyguards…"

Naruto shrugged, the tension in his shoulders loosening, and Hinata suddenly had a bad feeling he was going to do something she might regret. "Don't worry, I can handle it!"

"N-no, that's really not necessary…"

If he wasn't wearing a mask, she'd swear he'd just winked at her.

"Ne," he said, turning his attention back to the trio. "We hear monster here. Where is?"

"Monster?" Now it was the red-haired boy's turn to talk. "There are no monsters at Hogwarts. Well…there was the Basilisk in our second year, but that's dead now. And there's the Giant Squid in the lake, and there's Aragog in the Forbidden Forest."

Hinata didn't know what an Aragog was, and it didn't sound like a bijuu name, but…

"Aragog?" Naruto asked, folding his arms across his chest. "What that?"

The red-haired boy shuddered. "You don't wanna know."

"Why are you looking for a monster?" The bushy-haired girl asked casually. Hinata didn't think the question was casual at all, and was going to answer when Naruto tapped his chest and pulled his shoulders back in what he thought was a macho pose.

"I want fight it!" Naruto said proudly. "Beat it good."

"You want to test yourself against a monster?" Harry asked suspiciously. Hinata didn't blame him.

"Yeah!"

"Capture man said," Hinata interrupted, drawing the trio's attention, "he said there was monster in lake. One of his team got eaten. We worry if we don't know about enemy, we get eaten too."

Harry and the red-haired boy exchanged a look that could almost be sympathy, and the girl made a small "Oh," sound.

"…My way sounded cooler," Naruto grumbled to her, and despite all her training and everything they'd gone through, Hinata started giggling.

"What'd he say?" The red-haired boy asked, confused by her reaction.

"He said his words were better," Hinata supplied, still giggling. "Because he not sound so scared that way." A little white lie wouldn't hurt, especially if it would keep their excuse intact.

Naruto mumbled something under his breath that she didn't quite catch, and then he formed the first seal for the translocation jutsu. "Late now," he said in English, and Hinata recognized it as his way of saying goodbye. "We go."

"Y-yes," Hinata said, bowing her head towards the trio. From the looks they gave her, they weren't quite ready for the ANBU to leave—the girl especially looked like she had many more questions to ask. Hinata, however, was fine with what they'd learned during the short encounter—there was at least one monster in the strange forest.

What kept there from being more?

"Goodbye," she said politely, and in a poof of smoke, both she and Naruto were gone.


	6. In Which Dumbledore Has a Temper

Disclaimer: We own both _Naruto _and _Harry Potter. _Yondaime is definitely Naruto's dad, Kakashi never angsts at all, and minor characters are going to take over the world. Ninja have already taken over England, and Ron has discovered that he is actually the long-lost younger brother of Sabaku no Gaara.

…Aren't you glad we're kidding?

Authors' Notes: We're sorry this chapter has been such a long time in coming; fangirls that we are, we know what it's like to wait. However, we assert that the wait has been in a good cause. We've been distracted by the creation of the _Naruto _RPG "Shades of War," an original-characters RPG set at the time of the Second Great Ninja War. Kilerkki is an administrator and link no miko is a moderator, and we're having an awesome time putting it all together. Please stop by Kilerkki's livejournal (link through her user profile) for more information—and yes, this _is _a blatant plug.

Anyway, very many great thanks to all our lovely reviewers. Your comments and criticism are always welcome, and they put Kilerkki especially on a review-high that can last for days. Special praises for our superlative beta, Phoenix of Eternity, who has spared time from her hair-tearing worrying over the RPG to rip our messy ideas into shreds and help us reconstruct them into a worthwhile story. Check out her own stories, they're all very good.

This chapter is dedicated to the lovely Spaz, who said that all she wanted for Christmas (from me at least) was Chapter Six, and to all the wonderful people who have reviewed and encouraged and begged us for more. We hope we don't disappoint.

* * *

Masks and Shadows

Chapter Six:

In Which Dumbledore Has a Temper and Jiraiya Has a Drink

"Dango," Professor McGonagall said in a voice so harsh with rage that it nearly cracked. Naruto threw a quick sideways glance at the elderly witch from under his mask as the ugly statue at the entrance to Dumbledore's office sprang aside. The woman was almost trembling with fury, and had been from the moment she'd knocked on the shinobi's common room door just after dawn and ordered all four of them to accompany her to Dumbledore's office.

They'd missed breakfast, and Naruto's stomach was rather urgently reminding him that he hadn't had much of a dinner last night, either.

"So troublesome," Shikamaru muttered under his breath as the four ANBU began to climb up the spiraling staircase after McGonagall's poker-stiff back. He was still carrying the ancient book Dumbledore had lent him, one gloved finger marking his place among the yellowed pages. "If he had to see us, why couldn't it have been at a decent hour?"

"Most of the school's already up for breakfast, Shikamaru-kun," Hinata pointed out gently.

"_I _wasn't." Shikamaru sighed. "And I spent most of the night translating this stupid book."

"You finished it?" Neji asked abruptly, speaking for the first time that morning. His Hawk-faced mask turned to glower over his shoulder at the shinobi climbing the stairs behind him. "Was there any more information?"

"A little," Shikamaru said, and fell silent again. Naruto wasn't quite sure if he was being evasive or just lazy. Knowing Shikamaru, it was probably both.

They climbed the last spiral in silence, until McGonagall threw open the heavy door and stalked into the office. The shinobi slipped in behind her, footsteps masked by the rustle of her robes. Naruto noticed that the portraits on the walls were no longer dozing in their frames; every single ancient wizard and witch was sitting bolt upright, staring at the masked shinobi with glares that would have given Iruka's worst temper a run for its money. Naruto barely repressed the urge to tilt his mask back and stick his tongue out at them. He flipped them off discreetly instead.

Hinata twitched. So did Neji, but at least he didn't kick Naruto. He just kept staring straight ahead, at the white-bearded old man standing by one of the tall windows, gazing out at the green-grey fringe of the forest beyond the castle. Dumbledore turned slowly after a moment. His face was as cold and stern as the statue of the Shodai Hokage at the Valley of the End; Naruto could see nothing anymore of the kindly old man who had welcomed them to Hogwarts. "Thank you, Minerva," he said quietly in English, and something else Naruto couldn't quite understand, although the tone of dismissal was clear; Naruto'd heard it dozens of times in his year and a half in the ANBU.

The woman nodded stiffly and brushed past Hinata to the door. Her lips were still tight with rage, nostrils white and flared, chin set with impotent anger. Naruto didn't think she'd been this furious even when she'd tried to stop Neji and him from interrogating the missing-nin he'd captured. Had something else happened in the day since then?

"Minerva and Severus have given me the full story of what has occurred in my absence," Dumbledore said in Japanese, even more coldly than before. Naruto's attention flashed back to the old man. He felt Neji stiffen at his side, and when Dumbledore paused, he stole a quick glance at the older ANBU. Neji was standing as straight and still as ever. But underneath his mask the cords were standing out strong on the sides of his neck as his jaw clenched, and the scarlet tattoo on his upper arm bunched as the muscles tightened beneath it.

"We did our duty," Neji said stiffly. "There was no other way to obtain the information we needed. McGonagall-san's method was useless."

"So you tortured him," Dumbledore said. The stillness in his voice was more terrible than shouting.

"Would you rather we had killed him without questioning?" Neji demanded. "We left him alive, at least—"

"He killed himself last night." Dumbledore's voice cut across Neji's like a kunai through silk. "He bit off his tongue and drowned in his own blood."

Shikamaru swore. "We should have kept a guard on him from the start. _Would _have," he added a little more sharply, "if we'd been allowed. What did you expect when you hired us, Dumbledore-sensei? We're not your tame shinobi. We're ANBU—and you should know what that means."

"Special Tactics and Assassination Squad," Neji supplied anyway. "We're Konoha's killers, Dumbledore-sensei. While we're here, we'll be your guards. But that doesn't change what we are."

"Of course," Shikamaru added quietly, "if you wish to terminate our contract, we will understand." He straightened to stand nearly as stiff as Neji, and turned his chin just the slightest degree towards the door. "Our absence will, however, leave your school vulnerable to the kind of attack Naruto prevented two nights ago. And make no mistake, Dumbledore-sensei. Those men came prepared to kill. If Naruto had not been there…" He trailed off significantly.

Naruto filled the gap. "You'd have three really dead kids instead of three really dead missing-nin."

Dumbledore's blue eyes flashed. "Three students? I don't suppose their names would happen to be Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, and Hermione Granger, would they?"

Naruto swore, rather more violently than Shikamaru had. He hadn't meant to get the kids in trouble—but he was beginning to realize that trying to keep secrets from Dumbledore was even less effective than keeping them from Shikamaru. At least the Nara was usually too lazy to bother trying to find them out.

"Yeah," he admitted reluctantly. "They said they were gonna go speak with the jinchuuriki—Lupin-sensei. They sorta stumbled across us when I was still trying to talk with the missing-nin." Of course the talking had been all on the missing-nin's side at that point; Naruto himself had been busy trying to figure out where the students had come from and how on earth he was going to keep the other shinobi from noticing them. The girl's gasp had made that plan pointless, of course. At least none of them had lost their heads in the middle of the fight, even though they'd lost their dinners after seeing the results of his Rasengan.

Not that he blamed them, of course. The first time he'd used a Rasengan to kill, he hadn't been able to eat for hours. Compared to the destruction wreaked by a fully-charged Rasengan, the results of Kakashi-sensei's Chidori were almost clean.

"They got themselves spotted," he finished with a shrug. "So I had to take care of the problem."

The old man gazed at him steadily for a long moment more; Naruto fought the urge to fidget under the intense blue stare. At last Dumbledore sighed, his erect shoulders sagging a little, and stepped forward to seat himself at his desk in a whisper of heavy robes. "There will be no more torture," he said brusquely. "If attacked, you may kill to protect the students' lives, or your own. But any prisoners taken will be brought at once to my attention, no matter when or where. You are under my orders here, and we are not Death Eaters."

"Death Eaters?" Naruto inquired, half a second before Neji _did _kick his ankle.

"The enemy," he muttered. "Remember the briefing, and don't be a fool." He bowed slightly to Dumbledore—the first display of submission Naruto had yet seen in him. "Understood, Dumbledore-sensei." A pause. "However…it may be extremely advantageous to inspect the body…"

"_No,_" Dumbledore snapped, and Shikamaru groaned.

-

Somewhere along the fourth glass of firewhiskey, Jiraiya decided that he rather liked Scotland. Granted, the weather was lousy (the sky had been spitting a cold grey rain all day, and it didn't look like letting up any time soon) and the food was strange and the (deliciously buxom) proprietress seemed never to have heard of sake, but…

Well, the proprietress of The Three Broomsticks _was _deliciously buxom. And this firewhiskey wasn't sake, but he was fairly sure that a case or two as a birthday present would go a long way towards landing him in Tsunade's good books.

Maybe he'd even get some research done while he was here!

He tapped his empty glass and smiled winsomely at the woman who'd introduced herself as Madame Rosmerta. That was before she'd realized that he was foreign and _supposedly_ didn't speak more than a few words of English; they'd conducted their conversation so far mostly through signs punctuated by very charming giggles. Things had gone rather well, Jiraiya congratulated himself.

And when the other patrons of the pub thought the strangely dressed white-haired man in the corner couldn't understand a lick of their language, they were markedly looser with their tongues.

"…attack on the school," a fat man in the corner was saying to an elderly woman and a short plump little fellow with fly-away ginger hair. "I hear Dumbledore's hired some sort of foreign guards to protect the castle; they don't even speak _English_—"

"Mate o' mine saw them," the plump little man offered. "In The Hog's Head last week. They left 'round midnight with that giant bloke Dumbledore's got. _Eerie, _my mate said. All wearing cloaks on a fine night like that, and _all _wearin' masks."

"You don't suppose—" the elderly woman said breathlessly, "not…"

The fat man snorted. "As if Dumbledore'd hire Death Eaters to protect against Death Eaters! No, these are foreign folk, I tell you, although how long they'll last with You-Know-Who up and around again…"

The woman shivered dramatically, and the fat man patted her hand consolingly. "All the same…" He lowered his voice and leaned forward, and Jiraiya found himself unconsciously leaning forward as well.

All to no purpose, however. Rosmerta-san chose that moment to bustle over to refill Jiraiya's glass. "How do you like it, Mr. Jiraiya?" she asked a little _too _loudly. She'd been trying to teach him English; twenty minutes ago it had been amusing, but now Jiraiya silently cursed the interruption. The brats had started their mission, but it sounded as if there were more to this than Dumbledore had let on.

"Verlee goodu," he said, his best approximation at Naruto speaking English with his mouth full. Somehow it seemed almost insulting this time, instead of entertaining. He was fluent in English and a handful of other languages, anyway; the Great Toad Sennin shouldn't have to masquerade as a foolish old man!

…Perhaps the fifth glass of this firewhiskey stuff hadn't been such a good idea.

A bell chimed as the door opened, blowing in a cloak-wrapped woman along with a shower of cold rain. Rosmerta was off again, cheerfully welcoming the woman to the pub, and in the new silence Jiraiya let himself sink down a little in his chair, grazing his thumb against his teeth before his hands slid under the table. His right hand brushed a smear of blood against his left.

_Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Sheep…_

"_Ninpou_," he muttered under his breath. "_Kuchiyose no Jutsu_!"

It was time to find out what the brats were up to, anyway.

-

By dinnertime on Friday, Hermione was near-mad with the impatience born of suppressed information. Snape had taken twenty-five points from Gryffindor when she'd tried whispering to Harry and Ron in Potions, their only class together, and the two boys had had to skip lunch in favor of the first Quidditch practice of the year. It was only when Ron was lumping steak-and-kidney pie onto his plate while Harry slathered butter on his rolls that Hermione had a chance to bring up the subject that had been worrying them for days.

"Have you two been able to find anything else out?" she asked in a low voice, with a quick glance down the table. Seamus Finnigan was regaling Parvati and Lavender with the story of how _exactly _Colin Creevy had managed to nearly drown himself in the lake, while further down the table Ginny was laughing at something Dean Thomas had said. No one seemed to be paying any attention to the three sixth years, which was exactly what Hermione wanted.

_She _hadn't forgotten what Professor Hyuuga had said about spying.

She just…wasn't really following his advice.

Ron swallowed a large bite of steak-and-kidney pie and rummaged in his bag. "Harry and I went to ask Professor Lupin while you were in Arithmancy. He said—mmph, sure you don't want any pie, 'Mione?"

Hermione shook her head, suppressing a shudder of distaste at the dish Ron was holding out in his free hand. Harry helpfully picked up the thread of the tale while Ron finished chewing the large mouthful he'd taken while still talking. "Lupin said he agrees with what we figured out last night—the two symbols Toad started writing are the first part of the name that appears four times on the Map. _Uzu._"

"So that's _got _to make it Uzumuki Naruko," Hermione said, accepting the autographed scrap of parchment Ron held out. Beneath the scratched-out symbols and the large, blocky _Toad, _they'd scribbled their various attempts at interpreting the name. Professor Lupin had circled one of their later attempts and written in neat script: _This would appear to be the closest. _

"I think Lupin suspects something," Harry muttered. "He gave me a really weird look when I asked and told me to be careful around the guards. Said he wasn't one to speak of trusting other people, but all the same we should be on our guard."

"Sounds like old Mad-Eye," Ron grinned. "_Constant vigilance!_ Seriously, I think we should just try talking to them again; I mean, the Toad guy and the girl last night were all right, and—"

"That's another thing," Hermione cut in quietly. "Take a look up at the guards at the professors' table. Notice anything interesting?"

Ron and Harry's eyes slid past her to fix on the four masked guards bracketing the high table. Spiky black ponytail and short red hair on one side, spiky blond mop and black afro-like hair on the other side. "That's Toad," Ron said with a shrug, "but I dunno what you mean. What's wrong?"

"Where's the guard who was with him last night?" Hermione asked.

Harry sucked in his breath. "It was a dark-haired woman, but the only woman there has red hair and it's definitely not the same style—"

"But Miss Hyuuga _does _have dark hair," Hermione pointed out, "and I've never seen anyone else with that haircut." Even Nymphadora Tonks, who changed her hair color and style at the blink of an eye, had never tried that particular style, with bluish-black locks framing the face and the back cut short and angular.

"You don't mean—" Harry said slowly, but they never found out what it was that Hermione didn't mean. An enormous puff of smoke chose that moment to explode into existence on the floor in between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables, just short of the high table dais. Hermione wasn't sure if there was an accompanying explosion as well; whatever noise it may have made was drowned out as at least fifty teenage girls unleashed the full power of their lungs.

"Is that a _toad?_" someone demanded in a strangled voice.

Ron was standing on his bench, trying to get a good glimpse over the heads of the panicking Hufflepuffs. "This isn't one of Fred and George's left-behind pranks, is it?" he asked uncertainly. "Oh, _hell, _it's heading for the high table—"

The teachers were rising from their seats as well; Snape looked murderous while Dumbledore looked amused. Hermione couldn't see what there was to be amused about a bright green-and-purple toad the size of Hagrid's boarhound Fang hopping cheerfully up toward the dais, but apparently some other people could. At Madame Pomfrey's side Miss Hyuuga was snickering quietly into her hand, although her long-haired cousin was bristling.

Three of the guards seemed frozen in place. The fourth, the blond Toad, was staring as well—although his stiffened shoulders somehow looked less shocked than the others'. More, perhaps, insulted?

He yelled something in a strong voice that cut straight through the slightly-less-terrified screaming (a few of the Ravenclaws had even retaken their seats, looking rather abashed, although some of the Hufflepuffs still looked ready to run) and stalked down from the dais toward the toad, which sat back on its enormous hind legs and looked…smug. Smugness did not appear to be the desired response; the guard snapped again, pointing a black-gloved finger imperiously at the door. The toad ducked its head a little, and its long pink tongue flickered out almost far enough to touch the guard's extended hand. He slapped it down and barked something else.

His spiky-haired comrade at the high table seemed to take that as his cue to intervene. He slipped smoothly down from the table and touched the blond gently on the shoulder, muttering something into his ear. Toad stiffened again, then sighed, shrugged, and aimed a kick at his brightly colored namesake. It hopped out of the way far more quickly than anything of its size should have been able to move, nearly squashing a couple of fourth-year Ravenclaws in the process. They ducked and screamed; the spiky-ponytailed guard lifted his head to the ceiling and shrugged, his hands slipping into the pockets of his robe. He said something in a bored voice. The blond guard answered sharply. And then all three of them were heading out of the Great Hall so quickly that Hermione could only blink and stare as the toad hopped ahead to open the huge doors with hands the size of a first year's. The strange threesome slipped out, leaving the Great Hall in chaos behind them.

"C'mon," Harry's voice whispered in Hermione's ear. "If we don't hurry, we'll lose them."

She looked over at him, startled. "Harry, you don't mean to—after what happened the other night—"

He shrugged, but his green eyes were determined. Ron's blue eyes, on the other hand, were dancing. "A _toad? _C'mon, Hermione, that's bloody brilliant! You know if we don't find out now what's happening you'll never forgive yourself—"

"We're too far into this to back out now," Hermione muttered, stuffing Ron's crumpled parchment into the front of her robes. "All right. Let's go."

Harry nodded approvingly. Ron grinned. And Hermione couldn't quite help but smile back.

There was enough commotion, with several Hufflepuffs fainting and Ravenclaws still shouting and Slytherin and Gryffindor now adding their bewildered voices to the mix, that they managed to slip out of the Great Hall without attracting anyone else's notice. But they were still too late. And even if they hadn't been, Hermione realized, it wouldn't have done any good. The two guards were standing in the center of the entrance hall on either side of the giant toad, and Hermione caught only the tail end of the blond man's exasperated remark and a laconic reply from the pony-tailed guard before the dark-haired guard lifted two gloved fingers to his lips and vanished in a puff of smoke. The toad gave an exasperated croak and disappeared as well.

Ron made a very similar croaking sound in the back of his throat. "How come _they _can Apparate inside Hogwarts?"

"Don't be silly, Ron," Hermione snapped. "That's not Apparition. For one thing, Apparition doesn't involve smoke, and for another—"

"Excuse me," Harry said firmly, and Hermione and Ron both started before they realized he wasn't talking to them. He was already moving away, walking towards the Toad-masked guard with long, firm strides. Hermione noticed, though, that his right hand was hidden in his pocket, undoubtedly wrapped around his wand. She traded a hopeless glance with Ron, and the two of them sprinted after their friend.

Toad tilted his masked head to regard them with an air Hermione might almost have called amusement. "_Konnichiwa, Harii,_" he said cheerfully, and then, more carefully, "Hello?"

Harry blinked, thrown a little off-stride by the man's apparent friendliness. Hermione and Ron stepped quickly to his side. "We have some questions," Hermione said firmly. "We answered _yours _last night, and we'd like to get some answers of our own now."

The man lifted a gloved hand to scratch the back of his shaggy blond head, laughing a little ruefully. "Say too fastly," he said. "I not understand. You mean—?"

Hermione took a deep breath, but to her surprise, Ron spoke first. "We mean, we know who you are, _Uzumuki Naruko._"

The response they got wasn't what any of them had expected. The blond man stiffened as if someone had just hit him with a Full-Body Bind and barked furiously, "Uzu_maki _Naru_to!_" And then he stiffened even more and threw a sharp glance around the entrance hall, and moving faster than Hermione would have thought anything human could move, he grabbed each of the three by the collars of their robes and bundled them into the antechamber where they'd waited six years ago before being sorted into their House.

A few candles flickered wearily to life as they entered, but the shadows were still deep enough that they turned the guard's red and white mask into something demonic. Hermione found her hand slipping into her own pocket, clutching tightly around her wand. She glanced at Harry and Ron. Harry was biting his lip and shoving his glasses back up his nose with his left hand; he looked determined and reckless and just a little bit angry. Ron had his wand out already—but he was looking at Hermione, not at the guard.

Hermione looked quickly away.

"How you know?" the guard was asking, and his voice was low and dangerous. He'd released them as soon as they entered the room, and now he was moving back to lock the door and to jam what looked like a peculiar but very sharp knife between the frame and the door itself. "Who tell you name?"

"No one told us," Harry said. "We figured it out. You really are Uzi—Uzumuki Naruto, then? And those three other people with your name—who are they?"

"And what was the toad doing here?" Ron burst out.

"How did it get here and then leave?" Hermione added. "Do you have some special way of Apparating? That's not supposed to be possible inside Hogwarts grounds!"

"What's going _on?_" Harry finished.

Silence. The guard stared at them, mask glinting slightly in the flickering candlelight as he turned his head to regard one, then the other. Finally he sighed and flicked the clasp of the cloak at his neck. He shrugged out of the dark cloak he'd been wearing, revealing the strange clothing they'd seen two nights before: sleeveless black turtleneck, tight black trousers, gleaming bone-colored chest armor and arm-guards. The strange, swirling tattoo on his bicep seemed to ripple menacingly as he hung the cloak on the hilt of the knife protruding from the door. He turned again to regard them, tilting his head in the familiar gesture of thought. And then, to Hermione's surprise, he pointed straight at Harry.

"You. Ask first. _Slow._"

Harry swallowed, but Hermione saw the hand wrapped around his hidden wand relax just a little. "Alright," he said after a moment. "Is your name Uzumuki Naruto?"

The blond man twitched. "Uzu_maki _Naruto," he said again, sharply. "Yes." He paused, then added grudgingly, "You call Naruto."

"What about the toad?" Ron asked. "Who's—I mean, what was that?"

"Gamagerou," the guard—_Naruto,_ Hermione reminded herself—said proudly. "He, _anou, _he come when I call. When _Ero-sennin _call," he amended, muttering something Hermione didn't catch under his breath. From his tone, she was fairly sure she didn't want to know what it meant.

"Who is Ero-sennin?" Ron asked anyway.

Naruto was silent for a moment, scratching the back of his head as if he were trying to frame an answer in words he could find and they could understand. "Teacher," he said at last. "Very strong. Stronger, but!" He puffed up proudly, tapping his chest. "Fight monster in lake, beat good." He cocked his head again, and Hermione was sure she wasn't imagining the sly grin behind the mask.

"You're not really worried about the monster in the lake," she said slowly. "You've come—I mean, you are here for something else, aren't you? What?"

The gloved hand dropped from the bright blond hair; the man folded his arms and stared thoughtfully at Hermione. "Smart," he said finally. "Smart like Shikamaru? We see—_kuso!_" He clapped a hand to the wide painted mouth of his mask, muttering something furiously.

Hermione let her smile grow a little wider. "So one of the other guards is named Shikamaru?" she said. They'd managed to figure out a few syllables on the fourth name, but putting them together into anything resembling a coherent name had been tough. With Naruto's slip, however, they had all four names complete. _Hyuuga Neji. Hyuuga Hinata. Nara Shikamaru…and Uzumaki Naruto._ Now, to figure out _what_ they were—

But the man was staring at her now, and even though she couldn't really see his eyes behind the dark eyeslits of the mask, somehow something about that dark gaze made the hair stand up on the back of her neck and goosebumps run up her arms. "You not tell," Naruto said softly. "Or I make you quiet. Always. You _never _tell."

"We won't," Harry said swiftly, stepping in front of Hermione with his wand raised. Ron grabbed her arm from beside and pulled her against him, blue eyes fiercely threatening the blond guard to make any move. Harry continued in a quieter voice. "We don't want to get you in trouble. But we want to know what's happening. You helped us; maybe we can help you."

Hermione held her breath. The silence seemed to fall around them more thickly than treacle; she was sure she could feel Ron's heart beating through his side. Harry and Naruto gazed at each other for a long moment, the air so tense that it seemed any moment static electricity would crackle through the room. And then Naruto laughed shortly, his voice breaking through the tension as if it were a string he could roll up and stick in his pocket.

"Trust _us, _Harii?"

Harry paused. Then he said slowly, "Yes, I do. You saved us, but then you came and talked to us afterwards. You didn't have to do that. You don't have to be talking to us now. I think you want to know what's happening as badly as we do, and maybe if we work together, we can both find out."

Naruto nodded, short and sharp. "Right," he said, and lifted a hand to his mask.

And dropped it again, and spun, hand darting to the boxy black holster on his thigh to come up filled with glinting metal as a resounding knock vibrated the door. The three students exchanged lightning-quick glances. What if—?

"If you do not open this door by the time I have finished drawing my wand," a cold voice said quietly from the other side of the door, "the door will no longer be standing."

"_Snape,_" Harry hissed. Hermione threw an anxious glance at him, then at the guard, whose masked face had turned back to the door in confusion. He wouldn't know how to deal with Snape, and if somehow things got mixed up, they'd _seen _what Naruto could do, and Hermione didn't want that to happen even to Snape…

"_Alohomora!_" she whispered, at the same time as Harry muttered: "_Accio _knife!"

The knife zoomed hilt-first into Harry's outstretched hand and vanished into his robes just as the door sprang open and Snape stepped in. His gaze flickered over the three students first. "Potter, Granger, and Weasley," he said softly. "I might have known." The cold black eyes flicked to Naruto, who was still slightly crouched with the metal weapons glinting between his knuckles. "Dumbledore would like an explanation," Snape said icily. "For your sake, I hope you can give him one."

The red and white mask stared intently at the Potions professor, and then tilted slightly, jauntily. Slowly and deliberately, the guard replaced his weapons (they looked like small metal stars with hollow centers) in his holster, scooped up his cloak with a sandaled foot from where it had fallen on the floor when Harry summoned the knife it had been hanging on, and headed for the door. Snape edged aside just enough to let him pass.

But Naruto paused in the doorway, turned back, and tapped Snape's shoulder. The Potions Master turned. "Yes?" he asked pointedly.

The mask leered cheerfully at him, and just as cheerfully, Naruto flipped him off. Then he lifted two fingers to his mask's painted lips, waved the other hand in a mocking salute, and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Snape snarled wordlessly and stalked out of the room in a flurry of black robes.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione exchanged one long, silent look.

This promised to be a very interesting year indeed.


	7. In Which Neji Curses Fate

Disclaimer: If we owned _Naruto_, fillers would've been over six months ago, and we'd be seeing the Gaiden (and a lot more random!chuunin and random!jounin) by now. If we owned _Harry Potter, _well…seeing how slow we write, you'd never have seen Book One. Too bad for us all.

Authors' Notes: Once more we apologize for how long this chapter has taken, and we thank all of our readers who've kept waiting and encouraging us for this chapter. Please remember, however, when you read one chapter and beg us to UPDATE SOON, that we aren't getting paid for this. (Except in terms of boosts to Kilerkki's ego, which can always use some more boosting.) Kilerkki is a full-time college student, and link no miko is a full-time real worlder, and we both have other priorities. That said, we'll do our best to keep the chapters coming! Just don't hold your breaths, because we wouldn't want to be accused of inadvertently asphyxiating anyone.

However, because you guys are awesome readers and we love and appreciate your support, we're again announcing a gift. The reviewer who leaves the 300th review may claim a drabble or fic of his or her choice from either of us (subject, of course, to our whims; if you've read any of our other stuff you'll probably know the characters and themes we like). Check our livejournals (kilerkki dot livejournal dot com and squeakchan dot livejournal dot com) for further information.

Finally, exceptionally great thanks to our beta, Phoenix of Eternity, and to **SpitefulMage, **who has drawn several gorgeous pieces of _Masks and Shadows_ fan-art for us (once again, check Kilerkki's livejournal for links). We're so thrilled you are all enjoying this, and we love to hear it from you!

-

Masks and Shadows 

Chapter Seven:

In Which Neji Curses Fate and Hermione Draws Conclusions

Anger was troublesome, but Shikamaru was most definitely Not Happy. Leaving Naruto with the three kids, he followed the toad Naruto had identified as Gamagerou back to the small village outside Hogwarts' grounds, translocating most of the way. Whatever the old man wanted, he'd chosen a hell of a time to come calling. Shikamaru just hoped it was safe to leave the loud-mouthed blond with three students infamous for causing trouble and sticking their noses where they didn't belong.

As he landed amid clouds of smoke in a dark alley and followed the toad to the outskirts of town, he figured that as long as the castle didn't blow up, their situation could still be salvageable.

Jiraiya was waiting for them on a large rock near a run-down, abandoned house. Gamagerou hopped up to his summoner while Shikamaru trailed behind, hands shoved in his pockets and shoulders hunched. It was _cold _out; what the hell was the man thinking?

"I brought him, so I'm gone," the toad croaked. "Don't call me back til it's warmer out, you got that?"

"Yeah, yeah." Jiraiya waved the toad's words off. "Whatever you say." He smirked at Shikamaru as the toad disappeared in a puff of smoke. "So you're the one he brought, eh?"

"Yeah." Given Naruto's propensity for loud noises and property damage whenever he argued with the Toad Sennin, Shikamaru had figured it would be best if he went to meet Jiraiya instead. "What did you want?"

Jiraiya shrugged, pulling a dark glass bottle out of his vest. "Checking up on you and all that. Can't let the kiddies go unsupervised now, can I?"

Shikamaru snorted. "Tsunade-sama made you come."

"Well, I wouldn't put it _that _way."

Sure he wouldn't. Shikamaru didn't bother arguing; Jiraiya was as whipped as any other man around their Hokage. He sighed and ran a hand over his head, up to his ponytail. Not that he had any call to accuse another man of being whipped, though fortunately he had the advantage of several thousand miles between him and the world's most troublesome women.

"And no, she didn't," the sennin continued, taking a swig from his bottle and resting his elbow on his knee. "Not entirely. I'm here because I want to be. And _you're _here because you're going to tell me what you've found out about this place so far."

The ANBU shrugged. "Not much. I think they're all insane, and some of the kids are annoying. Some enemy nin attacked a few days back, but Naruto and Neji took care of them." He frowned. "The clients didn't like that."

"What happened?"

"Naruto killed two of them and took a third in for questioning. It was the questioning part they didn't like—said Neji want overboard."

Jiraiya tipped his bottle back again, scoffing. "What'd they expect the brat to do, ask nicely? Other than that, did you find out anything about the bijuu?"

Shikamaru nodded. "Yeah, I think I did. And I'm pretty sure I know which one it is, too." He paused, eyeing the other man. "You know much about the Two Tails?"

This time, when Jiraiya took a drink, he wasn't smiling.

-

"Here."

Naruto scowled down at the finger Shikamaru had planted on the map spread over their small table. "We have to search in there? That place is huge!"

"That's why it's going to take a while, Naruto." Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "No one said this would be easy."

"But we don't even know what we're _looking _for." Naruto pushed away from the table and the map Shikamaru had produced when he'd returned from his meeting with Jiraiya. Though Tsunade had told them that Jiraiya would be following, Naruto hadn't much cared to hear Shikamaru relate that the old pervert had followed them to England "to babysit," and he _really _didn't care for being told to search through the wizards' own version of the Forest of Death.

"You're looking for any traces of a chakra seal, Naruto," Neji said calmly, not even bothering to glance up from his perusal of the map. "I doubt there would be more than one in this country, let alone one forest."

"And _you're _the one with the weird eyes that can see them," Naruto growled back, folding his arms stubbornly. "So why do I have to go?"

"Because," Shikamaru cut in wearily, "you're the one carrying a bijuu in your stomach. You know best what to feel for. And you'll have Hinata with you, so shut up."

Surprised, Naruto turned to stare at his fourth teammate, who had been quietly studying the map while the men argued. "You're coming too, Hinata?" He grinned. "Well, that's not so bad, I guess. Least I'm not gonna be searching by myself."

Hinata blushed slightly. "It's safer to travel in pairs outside the castle, so…"

"We need one of us on constant duty here while you're gone," Neji said, standing up straight and stepping away from the table. His eyes narrowed slightly. "And I have a class to prepare for."

"Heh, good luck with that, _sensei._"

Neji didn't bother dignifying that with a response.

-

The forest wasn't exactly what he would call pleasant, Naruto decided on Saturday morning. Not as bad as the Forest of Death (although that had a lot of memories attached to it, so it was hardly fair comparing), but still not the kind of place he'd like to spend his morning. He and Hinata had been traveling through it for almost an hour, jumping from branch to branch and following a very vague, overgrown trail to keep themselves from getting lost. But even with the Byakugan engaged and Naruto keeping his senses fully alert, they hadn't sensed anything at all. And from the way Hinata talked, it seemed they had a _lot_ of forest left to cover.

So when he finally sensed something off to their right, he was more than happy to pursue it, veering away and calling out to Hinata to follow. Truthfully, it didn't _feel_ like a bijuu, but it was something different and could maybe help lead them towards their goal.

Well, and the long hour of finding _nothing _was getting really, really annoying.

Naruto was never one of the most patient people in the world. Even being in ANBU couldn't completely erase that part of him. He was not, however, entirely stupid, and he did slow down as they approached their target, moving as silently as a ninja could when he had to. Foolhardy and headstrong, sure, but Naruto did know when caution was the better part of valor.

"Hinata," he whispered a few moments later, crouching on a branch with a hand stretched out to steady him. He turned to glance at his partner as she landed beside him, masked face turned to his. He tipped his head forwards and lifted a hand to his eyes—_Can you see what's out there_?She nodded, turning again, refocusing—

And then freezing, every muscle tensing. Naruto had a second to wonder what was wrong before an arrow hissed through the leaves and sliced into the branch just below his wrist. He didn't waste time looking for his assailant; in one heartbeat he'd grabbed Hinata's shoulder and flexed his legs, and in the next they were ten meters above their previous position, balancing warily on another branch. Eyes narrowed, adrenaline racing, Naruto looked down.

A handful of creatures milled around on the leaf-strewn forest floor, heads tilted back to watch the two ninja, arms still lifted with bows drawn and arrows nocked. They were holding their fire for now; had that first arrow been a warning shot? Naruto recognized the beasts, half-horse and half-human, from Neji's description of one of the teachers he had worked with, but he couldn't remember what they were called and he didn't much care to.

After all, they'd just tried to _shoot _him.

The largest one, a chestnut stallion, stepped away from the others after a moment, dark gaze still locked onto the two ANBU. He yelled something up at them, but Naruto lost it with the distance and the fact that he still had difficulties understanding English when the speaker _wasn't _trying to kill him.

"We're searching," Hinata called back down, drawing Naruto's attention. It was definitely a good thing if she knew what the hell those things were saying. "Have you seen—"

Another arrow flashed up at them, plunging into the bark just below their branch. Naruto growled low in his throat and shoved himself out of his crouch, glaring down at the archers. If these assholes weren't going to help them, then that was fine with him. And if they wanted a fight, he'd damn well give them a fight.

He started forming the seals almost automatically, and two kage bunshin appeared beside him in a puff of smoke. He barely caught Hinata's startled exclamation, her quick rise to her feet, as he sent the doppelgangers down. He would have followed if not for slender hands on his arm, stopping him as effectively as if she'd tied him to the tree.

"Naruto-kun, stop. We don't have time for this."

"But they tried to shoot us! If we leave them behind—"

"We're not here for a fight, and we can't afford to get caught up in one. We need to leave before that happens."

He stopped at that, frowning behind his mask. In the lowest branches of the tree the two bunshin stopped as well, hesitating uncertainly, before Naruto dismissed them in two puffs of smoke. Hinata was right. _Focus. Gotta focus. _

Besides, if they were delayed because of some stupid half-horse creatures that couldn't aim worth a damn, he'd never hear the end of it.

So he jerked his head, silently letting her know that he agreed, and then both he and Hinata were gone, darting off in another direction and away from the strange, angry creatures. Only when they were far enough away that Naruto could no longer sense them did he relax, still angry but holding it back. He didn't make his way to any of the lower branches, though. Sucky aim they might have, but why tempt pain if he didn't have to?

"Well," he finally muttered, jumping from branch to branch and glancing over at Hinata, "that didn't go so well."

Which, as it turned out, was truer than Naruto could ever imagine. They continued on through the forest, careful to skirt any presences that they couldn't identify. Which meant they spent most of the time high up in the trees, moving quickly and silently. And for all that they were in another country—another part of the _world_—well…

It looked exactly the same as if they were back home.

"Anything yet, Hinata?" he asked, jumping a particularly large gap between branches, muscles straining. They'd been moving nonstop for hours, and he was starting to think it was time to head back. There was a lot of forest left to cover, but time was running out before they needed to be back at the castle.

And he was tired of feeling like he was going in circles and not _doing_ anything.

Hinata shook her head slowly. "No… I'm sorry, Naruto-kun, but…"

"It's okay," he said, pulling to a stop. She halted as well a few branches ahead of him and turned to look back. "Let's go back," he suggested. "This isn't getting us anywhere."

"We still have a few hours of daylight, though."

He shrugged her words off. "Yeah, but—"

His words died in an instant, all of his senses alert as he jumped up and sideways. Hinata mirrored his movements as something huge smashed through the tree where he'd been standing. "The _hell_?"

There wasn't time for anything else as a huge shape barreled towards them, shoving trees out of its way. Not nearly as large as Gamabunta, but still bigger than any human Naruto had ever seen, the thing bee-lined right towards him, reaching forward with hands large enough to crush him. A quick _kawarimi_ put him out of harm's way, but the branch he'd been on crunched to splinters as the giant's hand closed around it.

"Dammit, Hinata," he hissed, as the young woman dropped onto his new branch. He pulled her down low, behind a dense bunch of leaves. "The hell is that thing?"

"I don't know… I can't read the chakra pathways at all."

It turned to face them then and both ninja tensed, springing away when it started moving. Naruto whipped around to attack it as soon as he landed, hands molding the seals for the _kage bunshin_, but then Hinata was there, latching onto his arm and tugging at him.

"Naruto-kun, no. Leave it be and let's go back to the castle."

He shrugged her off, shaking his head. "I'm not gonna leave it behind to attack us!"

"Our mission was to find the bijuu," she continued, gripping his arm again, "not fight unknown creatures. If there's an enemy like this, we have to let the others know."

"_Or_ I can get rid of it now and— Look out!"

The giant smashed into the tree, hitting so hard half the branches broke and the trunk nearly snapped in two. Naruto grabbed onto Hinata and jumped away, darting from tree to tree until they were a good distance away. As soon as he stopped, Hinata ducked from his hold and grabbed his wrists, pulling him into a run before he could stop her.

"We're going back, Naruto-kun," she said, and Naruto was surprised at how hard her voice sounded. It was rare when Hinata demanded anything, and rarer still when she sounded like she did just then.

The blond shinobi looked back once at the destruction they were leaving behind, glaring through the eye slits of his mask before taking the lead and hurrying back to base.

There was no way he was going to let things end like this.

-

In a classroom on the ground floor of Hogwarts, Neji spent Monday afternoon sitting stiff-backed in his chair beside Trelawney, listening to Firenze teaching his half of the lesson and the adolescent girls continuing to giggle behind their hands. Not that Neji gave them much mind. With the patrols he'd been running to make up for Naruto and Hinata's excursions in the forest, he'd had no time to thoroughly read and translate the books he'd borrowed, nor to devise even a basis for a "lesson." He had more to think on than the silly antics of people he could barely understand.

He disliked being unprepared. That he was in a foreign country and around people who spoke a different language made his error worse. But he was quick on his feet, and while he hadn't retained a large amount of information, he _had_ skimmed the books.

So when Firenze turned and addressed him, Neji stood, confident as always, and strode to join the centaur at the front of the room.

"Hello," he began, voice slightly clipped. "Today I am teaching that Fate is bad." He frowned slightly, thinking of a phrase he'd heard Naruto trying to learn the other day. "That it sucks." There was an audible gasp from Trelawney, and Firenze raised an eyebrow, but Neji had expected those reactions. The woman was crazy and the centaur only a little less so.

What he hadn't expected was the giggling to burst into varying cries of surprise and shock or even more laughter. Had he said something wrong? The book said that phrase meant something was undesirable, so what had he done to warrant such a reaction from the students?

"Professor, I can't believe you'd _say_ that," one of the girls in shock said, glaring up at him. "There's nothing _bad_ about Divination!"

Neji eyed the girl coolly, pushing his confusion away for a moment. "Why not? Telling the future is not something you can know. Even the best guess."

"Professor Trelawney doesn't _guess_," the girl beside her said. The rest of the class quieted down at that. "What kind of teacher are you?"

"I was hired to teach my way," he answered, eyes narrowing slightly as he met the girl's gaze. "I do not believe Fate rules complete. So I will teach that Fate does not rule complete."

In the back of the room, Trelawney looked like she was about to have an apoplectic fit. The few students that had burst out laughing wore huge smiles, and Neji was reminded a bit of Naruto when he was about to jump into a fight. Apparently, idiocy knew no boundaries.

"Now see here, Professor Hyuuga," the shawl-covered woman finally ground out, voice high-pitched and trembling, "one does not _mock_ the Sight like that! I've always known you were a fake—"

"What about me is fake?" Neji glared back at the older woman, white gaze locked with her pale eyes behind huge lenses. "Fate traps everyone if you let it. They should know this. You cannot teach one thing without showing its bad sides."

"So then why would Professor Dumbledore even hire you?" the first girl shrilled, pulling Neji's attention back to her. "You're a fraud!"

"Hey, just because he doesn't follow _your_ precious Divination doesn't mean anything," another boy called out. He was soon joined by a few other students until the room was filled with the sounds of shouting adolescents.

It didn't take long for Neji to grow tired of it.

"_Quiet_!" Silence fell immediately as the students turned to look at him and froze, eyes wide. The veins around Neji's eyes bulged out, and the very edges of his pupils showed as he activated the Byakugan. Trelawney gasped again, and while the centaur showed no outward sign of surprise, his heart rate had sped up, if only for a moment. Neji allowed himself a small, inward smile at that.

"Now," he said once everyone was still and he was sure they would stay that way, "you will all quiet down. I am teacher now." When there were no protests, he gave a curt nod and released the Byakugan, his eyes returning to normal. He'd long since become used to the jump from completely spherical vision to normal, but there was still a small second of disorientation that came with it.

"I say that Fate is bad because it is. If you let it take you, it will rule everything of your life. We cannot know Fate, but we try." He paused and looked out over the students. "This is what is the danger in it. One person becomes lost in it, and everything becomes about what we cannot know."

"N-now see _here_, Professor Hyuuga!" The older witch seemed to have found her voice again, something for which Neji was not glad. "You cannot say things like that! You're a disgrace to everything we stand for!"

His eyes narrowed at the insult. Before he could say something else, however, one of the girls gasped and pointed towards him.

"What did you See, professor?"

"What?" Anything he might have been about to say to Trelawney was forgotten as he looked at the dark-haired girl in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Before, you told us your eyes change when you See," she said, expression almost awed. Hadn't she just been angry at him? To switch so quickly from one emotion to the next was never something Neji could completely comprehend. Hyuuga did not give away their feelings so easily, and while Hinata might be overly emotional, she seldom had such quick mood-swings. "So what did you See?" the girl pressed.

Trelawney pulled her shawls tighter around her, expression dark. "Now, Miss Patil, you must not believe anything this—" She used a word Neji didn't know; he filed it away to look up later. This inability to completely understand was beginning to grate on his nerves. "He has no Inner Eye."

"But he told us—"

"Enough," Firenze ground out. Everyone turned to look at the centaur as he stepped forward, arms folded across his bare chest, frown darkening his features. The ANBU stepped away to allow the horse-man to stand before the class.

"Professor Hyuuga has given us his lecture," Firenze said flatly. "While it might not be what you wanted to hear, you will still respect him." He turned to look at the Hyuuga then. "You may sit down, Professor."

Neji obliged willingly, returning to the back of the class to take his seat beside Trelawney. He remained silent throughout the rest of the lesson, giving up his effort to understand fairly quickly and instead focusing his efforts on paying attention to the _way_ the words were said and trying to infer meanings that way. This class was a waste of his time, but he might as well try to get whatever he could out of it.

Once the students had filed out—not without hesitant, wary, and outright distrustful glances at him, as well as some poorly concealed grins and thumbs-up—he stood and prepared to leave himself. There were more important things he could be doing. Firenze stopped him with a quick word though, and Neji turned to the Divination professor.

"Yes?"

"It would be best," the centaur said quietly, "if perhaps you did not return." He sidestepped to allow Trelawney to pass him, all fluttering shawls and huge lenses. But all the shawls in the world couldn't mask the glare she sent Neji's way before wishing Firenze a very clipped farewell.

"I understand," Neji finally said once the woman had slammed the door behind her. "However, I was hired for this. I am not sure what might happen if I go." If he _could_ get out of this, he would gladly take any reason, but he wasn't sure that Dumbledore would allow him. Especially not after the interrogation and the Headmaster's reaction to it.

Firenze was quiet for a moment before he finally nodded and turned away back towards the center of the room. "I will speak with the Headmaster. Good day, Professor."

Neji bowed to the centaur's back before he turned and left the room, closing the door softly behind him.

-

The invisibility cloak barely reached the ground when it was draped over Ron, a fact which never served to make him happy when he had to hunch down and walk. Being the tallest was usually nice, but not when they had to creep down corridors near midnight and Hermione kept scolding him for scuffing his feet. It wasn't like he could help it! Either crouch and scuff, or stand tall and let their ankles show.

They were being especially cautious tonight. Parvati and Lavender had returned from Divination class with stories of how Professor Hyuuga had gone nutter and used his Sight, and the entire Gryffindor Common Room was awash with theories of just what his eyes could do. The girls were sure all he could do was tell the future, but George and Fred had started the rumor he could see through clothes and look at girls' knickers. Everything had just spiraled further from there. And the stories didn't help Ron's eagerness to help Harry sneak their way to the man's room—especially not when the Marauder's Map indicated the rooms were in the same third-floor corridor where they'd found a giant three-headed dog in their first year at Hogwarts.

"This really sucks," Ron muttered after a while, tilting his head in an effort to get the crick out of his neck. "Hermione and me are Prefects. I don't see why we couldn't just walk normal until we got near their rooms and _then_ get under the bloody cloak."

"Shh, Ron, you're going to get us caught."

"I am not, Hermione, I'm just saying—"

"Yes, and not _thinking_—"

Harry held up a hand to silence them before they could start in on one of their rows. He clutched the Marauder's Map in his other hand, and his face was tight with anticipation. "C'mon guys, not now. We're getting close."

"Sorry, Harry," Hermione whispered. "It's just that—"

"What's that?"

They all stopped at Ron's question, freezing along the wall. Ron strained his ears to catch the noise again, but he heard nothing. Harry shook his head at last and urged then slowly forward. When they were a few more yards down the corridor he stopped them; the sound was weak, but audible now.

People were talking.

And either they were still too far away, or the people in question were speaking gibberish—or maybe both, Ron wasn't sure. No matter how hard he listened, he couldn't understand a word that was being said. He was about to kick Harry on again when he _did_ hear a familiar name.

Neji.

True, something he couldn't understand followed right after it, but Ron didn't bother to try to figure out what it might mean. They'd found one of the people they'd come to see (spy on?), but he wasn't sure what to do now.

He was sure it was only a story and nothing more, but he wouldn't put heat-vision out of the way completely when it came to Hyuuga.

Harry looked back at them, brows lifted questioningly, and Ron nodded slowly. Hermione pursed her lips and then nodded as well, and all three worked their way forward silently. Ron was rather pleased with himself that his feet didn't scuff at all.

The other boy stopped before they rounded the final corner; the voices were loud enough now that Ron could clearly hear them. They still made no sense though. He turned to look at Hermione, intending to see if she knew what was going on, and before he could even ask anything she'd mouthed "Japanese" to him.

Which made sense, Ron had to admit sheepishly. What foreigner spoke English when he wasn't around other English speakers?

They stayed huddled under the cloak for a few more minutes, listening uselessly to the conversation in the hall. The other voice, now that they could were close enough to tell the difference, was definitely feminine. That the professor said the name "Hinata" more than once didn't hurt in the process of Ron's deductive skills, either.

Not that he could figure out much else. All the words were different, and though he could catch the rising pitch that probably meant a question, knowing Hyuuga had asked a question didn't help much when he had no idea what the question was. When he glanced over at Hermione, he saw that her eyes were narrowed and her lips tight in thought. He wanted to point out that there was no way she could ever understand what was being said, but he bit the comment back. With all his luck, he'd just give them away.

But if they didn't do _something_ soon, the sound of his back cracking from being bent over so long _would_ give them away. Ron reached out to tap Harry's shoulder to get his attention, but the tone of the conversation shifted suddenly. Hinata's voice sounded defensive and almost hurt, and suddenly Harry was moving and it was all Ron could do to not slip out from beneath the cloak.

_You bloody idiot_, he wanted to yell at Harry as they walked out right in plain view of the two foreigners. Cloak or not, it wasn't very comfortable being out in the open like this. But after a quick glance at the cousins, he relaxed slightly. Hinata definitely looked upset, and from the professor's posture, he wasn't exactly happy himself. They would never notice the trio walk by as long as Ron and his friends stayed near the wall and kept quiet.

Except that they _did_.

As soon as Harry started them towards the slightly open door behind the two in the hall, the conversation stopped and the white eyes flicked right to where Ron was standing. He froze with one hand on Hermione's arm, not even daring to breathe. _Oh hell oh hell oh hell! How did they see us? They can't see us!_

Hyuuga barked a sharp order in his own language. Ron stiffened even more. Maybe they hadn't been seen? Had he only scuffed his feet? When no one said anything else, he slowly let out the breath he'd been holding and tapped Harry's back with one of his fingers. As soon as they looked away…

And then that thought was dashed to pieces as veins bulged out around both the man and woman's eyes and Hermione sucked in a quick, almost silent breath. Everything Lavender and Parvati had told them about their class earlier in the day came flooding back to Ron's mind, and it was only a matter of seconds before he used his heat-vision and—

There was a flutter of cloth, a cry of disbelief from Harry, and suddenly the invisibility cloak was gone, held in Hyuuga's hands as he glared at them. _How'd he move so fast? _Ron wanted to yelp, but he saved the breath for moving himself, snatching his wand out and pointing it at the man. Harry and Hermione had their wands out as well, but in Harry's left hand, where the Map _had _been, was the strange knife the guard Naruto had left behind the night before.

Hinata said something in their language then, her voice soft. Her cousin huffed and held the cloak back for her to take, muttering something quickly without taking his eyes off the trio. She took it carefully, turning it around in her hands before folding it up neatly—just as a loud crash rang out behind the cousins. Hyuuga didn't bother turning around, but he did as a familiar blond man in a toad-faced mask darted out of the room.

Naruto called out to Hinata, but halfway through the sentence he seemed to notice Ron and his friends. He cut his words off, stiff with astonishment. For a moment, anyway. In another second he was waving over Hinata's shoulder, calling out a loud "Harii!"

Harry paused, lowering the knife. "Hey, Naruto," he said, cautiously.

Both the Hyuuga's eyes widened then, Hinata's a little more than her cousin's, and they stepped back to glance between Harry and Naruto. Professor Hyuuga said something in a low voice, and the blond shrugged. They exchanged a few words Ron really wished he could understand, and then the veins slipped away from the two Hyuuga's eyes, and Naruto quickly forward.

"Is fine," he said, waving a casual hand at the two behind him. "Sorry. Why you here?"

Ron glanced over at Harry and Hermione, not quite sure what to say. They'd come here to talk more to the guard who'd almost revealed himself to them, and here he was, along with two of the other three people they'd found on the map. Both of whom looked less than pleased to see them, and all three Gryffindors still had their wands held out at the ready.

In the end, Hermione pocketed her wand and took a step forward. "We thought maybe now we could speak with you," she said slowly, glancing back at the boys. Ron and Harry exchanged glances; Harry nodded, and Ron sighed and stuffed his own wand back into his pocket. He kept his hand hovering near it, though.

"Talk with me? How you—oh, my kunai!" Naruto stepped towards Harry, reaching out for the knife the other boy still held in his left hand. Harry hesitated only a moment before handing the blade back to its owner. Naruto twirled it around his finger as if showing off, then stuffed it back into a pouch on his hip.

When the guard made no move to finish what he'd been saying before he spotted the knife, Ron cleared his throat. "Uh… So you think we could talk now?" Hyuuga frowned, and Ron tensed again, though the man didn't move.

"Oh! Right!" Naruto crossed his arms. "How you find us?"

"Not here," Hyuuga cut in. All five of the others glanced over at him, but Hyuuga ignored them as he walked towards the open door. He paused for a moment, only long enough to say something to his cousin in a low voice, and then vanished beyond the door.

"Please, come inside," Hinata said softly. Her accent was much lighter than Naruto's, and Hermione's eyes widened in sudden surprise.

"You! You were the other guard with Naruto, weren't you? I just realized!"

"I-I'm sorry…" The dark-haired girl looked between the three Gryffindors, raising one hand to her lips. "I don't know what you mean."

"It's been bothering me for days," Hermione continued, not seeming to notice the other girl's words. "But I couldn't place you exactly until just now. The other guard that came to talk to us with Naruto, the one who translated for him. That was you!"

Ron looked from his friend to Hinata to Naruto and back, bewildered. How did Hermione _do_ things like this? He'd argue with her (that was a rather large leap of logic, after all), but from the way Naruto's shoulders stiffened and Hinata looked at the blond, he thought she might be right.

Harry stepped forward before anyone could say anything else, jerking his head towards the door. "I think maybe we should do like Professor Hyuuga said, and go inside." When Naruto and Hinata turned towards the door, Harry glanced back at Ron and Hermione, lowering his voice to a whisper. "Be careful, okay?"

"We will," Ron assured him, but he took another deep breath all the same before they headed into the room.

It was a little smaller as the Gryffindor common room, furnished with several armchairs around the fire and four straight-backed chairs pulled up to a table in the center of the room. Hyuuga sat stiffly at the table while another man with his dark hair pulled up in a high ponytail sat across from him, feet up on the table and a book open on his thighs. He glanced up when they entered, frowned and muttered something Ron didn't catch, and then closed the book and dropped his feet to the floor. He said something quick to Naruto, sighed at the blond's response, and then turned to face the trio.

"Nothing said leaves the room."

Hyuuga huffed again, obviously angry. Hinata glanced at him and the others, then asked a soft question Ron (again) really wished he could understand. The other Hyuuga shook his head, but he stood anyway and followed her into an adjacent room.

"Hey, where are they going?" Ron demanded.

"Tea," the pony-tailed man said, sounding bored. He glanced up at Naruto, tapped a finger against his own chin, and raised an eyebrow as he asked the other man something in their own language. Naruto paused, then chuckled before reaching up and removing his mask. He didn't look much older than Ron's brother Percy, and he grinned cheerfully at the three wizards, blue eyes dancing, the three parallel scars on each lean cheek crinkling. Ron had never seen scars that looked so perfectly like whiskers before—but then, compared with blue balls of light that tore people apart, and white eyes that suddenly bulged and could see through invisibility cloaks, whisker-like scars were almost normal.

"Are you Mr. Shikamaru Nara?" Hermione was asking the dark-haired man, obviously already moving on to more important things. "Or, wait, you say it the opposite way."

The man paused, dark eyes suddenly alert. "Nara Shikamaru, yes," he answered after a moment. Ron thought he might have actually caught a change in the man's bland expression, but it could have been a trick of the dim lamplight. "We know you. Harii, Ron, Her—" He cut off at that, frowning. "Herumee-onay."

Hermione winced slightly. Harry sniggered. "Better'n Krum," Ron muttered to Hermione out of the corner of his mouth. She glared at him.

"Yeah, that's us," Harry said finally, stepping closer to the table. He glanced at the map laid out on the table, then quickly away—thinking of the Marauder's Map he'd quickly hid when Hyuuga pulled the cloak off, Ron guessed. They wanted to learn more about these guards; that didn't mean they wanted the guards to know their secrets.

"Why you here, Harii?" Naruto plopped down in one of the armchairs, lounging back with his long legs stretched out towards the fire. He waved a hand towards the other armchairs.

"You said we could talk later." Harry hesitated, then sat down across from Naruto. Hermione quickly took the chair next to him; Ron snagged one of the straight-backed chairs from the table and pulled it up next to Hermione. Naruto was beyond cool, but Ron wasn't sure he wanted to sit _next _to him yet. Harry glanced back at his two friends, then told Naruto firmly, "So we came to find you."

Shikamaru tapped his fingers against the table, eyeing Naruto. The blond guard's grin turned a little sheepish, and he rubbed the back of his head. Ron swallowed. Had Naruto not told the others about his meetings with them? Neither of the other two men seemed anything like friendly, and Dumbledore's warning about the guards being willing to kill kept echoing in his mind.

The tension eased a little as Hinata and Hyuuga returned to the room. She was carrying a tray loaded with what Ron guessed were tea things, though they didn't much resemble the china pots and cups he was used to. Hyuuga stepped away from her as soon as they entered and took up a place near the closed door that led back into the hallway, watching the others with his arms folded and his face set. Ron shifted uncomfortably under his pale gaze. Harry looked just as disconcerted, but there was something else in Hermione's expression that Ron was all-too-familiar with.

Either she'd just figured something out, or she _thought _she had. The small smile that curved her lips a moment later only confirmed it.

Shikamaru waited until Hinata had passed out small glasses of tea and took the seat next to Naruto before he spoke. "How did you know where we are?"

Harry shrugged casually. "We're familiar with the grounds. This is the most probable place you'd be kept."

Ron had to admire how quickly his friend had come up with the half-truth, but he wasn't sure the guards would buy the second part. Neither Shikamaru nor Hyuuga looked very convinced. But there was no way they were telling about the Marauder's Map, even if all the guards _had _seemed as friendly as Naruto.

"And why is that?" Shikamaru demanded.

"Because," Hermione cut in smoothly, "this area is still restricted to student access. You won't be bothered by students, and you can come and go freely." When none of the guards argued, she continued, leaning forward with her hands clenched around her tea-cup. "Why _are _you here? What are you, exactly? You have magic that doesn't use wands—magic like I've never seen, and you don't act like any wizards I've ever met—which is saying a lot because wizards are a pretty assorted lot—_and _you wanted to know about monsters on the grounds."

"Uh, Hermione, I think—"

"Right, right." She cut Ron off, flushing a little with embarrassment. Taking a breath, she started to repeat herself much more slowly, and the strained looks on the guards' faces slowly faded away. At least until what she said registered, and then they all glanced at each other, expressions guarded. Shikamaru muttered something in Japanese to Naruto, and the blond man answered in a near-growl. The conversation continued for a few more minutes, with even Hyuuga joining in every now and then, short and sharp. Harry was visibly growing impatient, leaning forward with his mouth set in a thin angry line, but it was Ron who exploded first.

"Hey, look," he snapped, standing so quickly that his chair scraped back and nearly pitched over. "We know you don't trust us—I mean, you'd be daft to trust us completely, right?—and we're not so sure about you, but could you at least not talk like we're not right here? It's bloody irritating!"

"_Ron_!" Hermione hissed, outraged. He turned, ready to justify himself—and then turned again quickly, straightening defensively as Shikamaru stood. He wasn't sure _what _he expected, but the spiky-haired guard didn't attack, just stared at the three for a moment before muttering under his breath and running a hand through his ponytail.

"Fine, we talk," he said. Ron grinned in triumph, and even Harry let a smile turn up the corners of his mouth. "But we only say what we need. Only that."

"That's fine," Harry agreed immediately, setting his untouched tea down. "So, first. What are you?"

"We are guards hired to protect the school."

Ron gritted his teeth. That was no different than what Naruto had told them before. "Yeah, but what _are _you? You're not wizards, that's for damn sure."

Shikamaru was silent for a moment, his eyes closed in thought. When he finally opened his eyes again, his dark gaze met Harry's. "No, we are not wizards."

"That didn't—" Ron began hotly.

"And your magic?" Hermione cut him off—_again_, the bloody girl! "Why can you Apparate on school grounds? And what was that Resingan thing?"

"_Rasengan,_" Naruto muttered under his breath.

"We do not Apparate," Shikamaru said, shooting Naruto a hard look. "And Rasengan is chakra. Like your magic."

"_Like _it?" Hermione's eyes brightened, and Ron was sure he could hear her brain working away extra hard. "There are other forms of magic? We've never learned of those, and no texts mention them."

Shikamaru shrugged. "Is chakra. That is all." He crossed his arms over his chest, his bored expression turning a little hard. "Is that all?"

"No," Harry said, glancing over at Naruto. "What about the monster? You mentioned a monster last time. Why?"

"Because of the water monster," Hinata intervened quickly. "For our safety."

"But that can't be the only reason," Harry pressed. "There's something happening, and we want to know what. If there's something dangerous about, we should know. This is our school."

The door creaked open now, and they all turned quickly; Ron was sure he wasn't the only one reaching for a wand. But it was only Hyuuga holding the door open and glowering at them. "Enough questions now. You can go."

"But—" Hermione protested.

"You can go."

Ron glared at him, but Harry nodded. "Fine. Can we come back?"

The three adults all looked towards Shikamaru. He sighed. "Yes. But now you go."

If the guards were willing to let them come again, Ron figured, they must have questions in turn. He wasn't really looking forward to answering them, especially if Hyuuga was going to be around. The man wasn't as nasty as Snape, but he didn't exactly make anyone feel welcome.

Hinata returned the Invisibility Cloak to Harry, and he led the way out of the room, with Hermione following and Ron bringing up the rear. Hyuuga closed the door on his heels, and they were left standing alone in the empty hallway.

"Well," Ron said, slouching and shoving his hands into his pockets, "_that _was bloody useful."

"Oh, hush," Hermione chided. "It wasn't _that _bad. And we have permission to return, so that's good."

"Yeah," he countered, "and I'm not so sure I _want _to. Did you see the way those two Hyuuga's eyes bugged out like that? And they saw us through the cloak!"

Hermione caught her breath, her eyes narrowing. "That's what I should have asked next! The only thing that can see through invisibility cloaks is the Marauder's Map. Or at least, I thought it was."

"It's not, quite," Harry said, but he shrugged off Hermione's instant questions. "We can ask next time. We've got that at least." He shook the cloak out and held it up. Ron groaned. His back was still sore from their last trek through the halls!

They kept silent the rest of the way back, apart from the odd grunt or scuffle or groan when Ron's stooped shoulders twinged a little too much. He threw the cloak off with relief once they reached the Fat Lady's portrait, ignored her grumbles about being woken up as he gave the password, and scrambled through the portrait hole and into safety in the deserted Gryffindor Common room.

At the moment, bed sounded like bliss. But Ron had one more thing to find out before they separated for the night. He caught Hermione's elbow as she headed for the fire. "So what were you smiling about back there, when Hinata and Hyuuga brought the tea out? You look like you figured something out."

"Oh, that." She shrugged, sitting in a fat armchair and pulling out her notebook. Knowing her, it was probably to jot down everything they'd just learned. "I just thought it was sweet and all."

Ron blinked. "Sweet?"

"How he tried to make up for their lovers' quarrel, with the tea," Hermione explained patiently.

It was Harry's turn to blink. "Who're lovers?"

Hermione sighed and turned back to her notebook. "Professor and Madame Hyuuga. I thought it was obvious."

Ron traded confused glances with Harry. Dumbledore had introduced the two Hyuuga as cousins, and they obviously looked like they were related. That didn't preclude them being lovers, of course—among pureblood wizards marriage between closely related people was almost the norm, and Ron was fairly sure his own parents were cousins of some sort. But unless Hermione had understood more of the conversation they'd overheard than either of the boys had… "It looked like they were fighting."

"Well, of course it would, to a _boy,_" Hermione said scathingly.

"Y'know," Ron said heavily, scrubbing a hand through his hair, "you make no sense."

Hermione made a noncommittal sound, still scribbling away.

Harry shrugged. "Yeah, well, I'm getting to bed. See you in the morning."

"Night, Hermione," Ron said, turning to follow Harry out of the common room. She didn't look up, but at least she acknowledged him with the same small 'hmph.' Ron rolled his eyes and headed up the stairs. Dean, Seamus, and Neville were already in bed, and Ron and Harry changed quickly and quietly before sliding into their own beds. Ron was just nodding off when Harry whispered to him.

"A lover's quarrel? What's she on about?"

Ron grunted and punched his pillow. "Who knows, mate. Sometimes there's just no understanding her."

Harry laughed in agreement, but if he said anything later, Ron didn't hear it. He was fast asleep, dreaming of masks and secrets.


	8. In Which Naruto Acquires Allies

Disclaimer: If we owned _Naruto,_ Chapter 328 would never have happened. As for Harry Potter, we're glad we don't own that. Getting each new chapter out is bad enough; if we had half the world hanging on our production of the last book, we'd be a quarter of the way to Mars by now!

Authors' Notes: First, exceptionally great thanks to our incredible beta Phoenix of Eternity for her exhaustive work on an M&S timeline; to Koorino Megumi for invaluable help with Latin; to PixiePilot for coming to our rescue with her copy of _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_; and to Tiarna Bronach for obtaining the first two HP books so we could verify Hagrid's dialect. Intervention of university and other real life issues have meant this chapter's taken quite a while to write; you may accredit this installment to a late-night planning session when link no miko actually managed to cross half a continent to visit Kilerkki and Phoenix of Eternity. Anyway, we had fun plotting it, so we hope you enjoy it.

A few notes: Some observant readers picked up on several mistakes we made in Chapter Seven. As a matter of fact, Fred and George should _not _be attending Hogwarts; we'd go back and correct that if we weren't so lazy. Also, there is a discontinuity with Hermione's realization about Hinata, but we're not correcting that either. Thanks anyway, Liallo and Sapphire Dragons, for pointing those out! I think we promised you drabbles, but we're just giving you this chapter instead.

Also, we _do _have the fic fully plotted out, at least in that we know where it's going and who's going to show up. But we're not telling you. For that reason, PLEASE do not leave reviews telling us to insert Sasuke-kun or Tenten or other favorite character of choice. It's kind of a long travel from Konoha, and we know where we're going.

As a final note, let us remind you again that this fic does _not _focus on pairings. In fact, pairings only appear inasmuch as we come across a place where we could insert a fun line relating to them. If one line seems to hint to Neji/Hinata, another could equally point to Naruto/Hinata. (Shikamaru refuses to get involved, as he has enough troubles back home in Konoha). Your reactions to the last few lines of Chapter Seven amused us a great deal, but just remember that even Hermione can be wrong.

Or, of course, she could be right.

* * *

Masks and Shadows

Chapter Eight:

In Which Naruto Acquires Allies and Neji Has A Very Bad Day

Wednesday morning dawned cold, wet, and far too early for Naruto's liking. He rolled over, groaned, threw an arm over his eyes, and tried to burrow back into the ridiculously overstuffed pillows of this British bed. He'd been _dreaming!_

Granted, he couldn't exactly recall what he'd been dreaming of--dark hair and pink hair and ramen seemed to dominate his thoughts, but that was normal--but it was the principle that mattered. Any release from confusing missions and languages and foods and people and places was to be devoutly welcomed, and this would have been his first full night of sleep in the last week...

"Get up," Neji said, unfeelingly. He prodded Naruto's shoulder again. "I'm taking patrol duty today."

"Don't need me, then," Naruto grumbled, and buried his head in the pillows. "Was up all night. Go '_way._"

"You went to bed just after I did," Neji said. "Your kage bunshin were the ones up all night. They don't count. Get up. I need your report."

Naruto groaned again and threw the pillow at Neji, who leaned to the side smoothly, just far enough that the pillow didn't even ruffle his ridiculously silky hair. "You coulda _waited,_" Naruto growled, throwing the blankets back and peeling his tee-shirt off. "Gimme my shirt. What's so important you need the report now?"

"I told you," Neji said blandly, picking out the skin-tight, sleeveless black shirt from the haphazard pile of equipment and uniform at the foot of Naruto's futon. "I'm taking patrol duty today. I need to know what your kage bunshin encountered during the night."

Squeezing his eyes shut had the admirable effect of shutting out the view of the infuriating Hyuuga, but it also helped him concentrate, filtering through the memories that had invaded his sleeping mind when the kage bunshin had disappeared with the jutsu's end at dawn. "Some kids sneaking around up on the tallest tower, but they skittered when I let 'em see me... Caretaker tried to yell at me on the third floor, but I just translocated into the next hall; could hear him yelling for ten minutes..." He sniggered. Neji gave him a blank stare. Naruto sighed and pulled the shirt over his head. "You must've been in the toilet when they were passing out senses of humor. Geez. There was something dark flying over the forest, but I didn't see what and it didn't show up again."

"That's it?" Neji asked, handing Naruto his trousers.

"Apart from falling through a staircase, yeah." Naruto glowered at the trousers. "Sure, we'd set traps for each other at the Academy, but that wasn't the place itself setting traps for us... Hey!" Some lagging part of his brain had finally caught up. "Why're you patrolling today? I thought Shikamaru'n me were on."

A muscle twitched at the side of Neji's mouth. "I spoke to Dumbledore-san last night."

"Yeah, so?"

"So I'm running patrol today," Neji said flatly. "Is that all?"

"Hell no," Naruto protested. "You can't just do that. You're only field leader, anyway--Shikamaru's in command here. What's going on?"

"You're not in command at all," Neji said, and with a poof of smoke he was gone.

Swearing, Naruto struggled into the rest of his clothes and armor and headed into the main room. Shikamaru was lounging in one of the armchairs, munching on toast; Hinata was making tea. Neji was nowhere in sight. Naruto swore again, under his breath, and detoured into the bathroom before he joined the others.

"Neji's a bastard," he announced, accepting a cup of tea from Hinata and snagging the last two remaining slices of toast. Shikamaru mumbled something that might have been agreement. Hinata frowned.

"What makes you say that?"

"Woke me up just to say he was going on patrol today, and wouldn't answer any questions." Naruto crammed half a piece of toast in his mouth and added indistinctly, "Sah 'e tal' a Dum'l'ore--"

"Naruto-kun, you're getting crumbs everywhere," Hinata reproached, brushing his vest off. "Neji-niisan had a meeting with Dumbledore-san late yesterday evening, when you and Shikamaru-kun were patrolling. Did he tell you what they said?"

"Didn't tell me anything!" Naruto complained. "I swear, he _likes _seeing other people miserable... Did Dumbledore yell at him about his class yesterday or something? _I _think that would've been a good lesson, anyway. Prolly lot more interesting than those kids are used to."

"He wouldn't say," Hinata said, looking worried. "Did he tell you, Shikamaru?"

"Yes," Shikamaru said, draining the last of his tea. "And no, I'm not telling you. It's Neji's business. He's doing you a favor, anyway."

"How's poking me awake way too early just to tell me I don't have to run patrol doing me a favor?" Naruto demanded.

"Well, it leaves you free to do other things," Shikamaru said, looking regretfully at his empty tea-cup.

"Like?"

Shikamaru clearly wasn't excited by the idea of being pressured into providing Naruto with a list of acceptable alternatives to patrolling. He sighed heavily and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "_troublesome..._" Naruto took a quick breath, prepared to inform him exactly what troublesome meant--Shikamaru wasn't the one who'd had to wake up to a pissy Hyuuga's prodding!--but Hinata quickly intervened.

"Like talking to Lupin-san. Pomfrey-san mentioned him again yesterday--apparently he's taken the past few days off, and is just now back at work. You never did get to talk to him, did you?"

"No," Naruto said slowly, finishing the last of his toast and brushing his crumbly hand against his leg. "The full moon was Monday night, but I got distracted... I meant to ask Wednesday, but that was the night the missing-nin attacked, and I forgot." He turned the tea-cup in his hands, watching the dark liquid tilt against the inside of the cup. He hadn't had a chance to find out any more about what a werewolf was, either, but from what he remembered it still sounded suspiciously like a _jinchuuriki, _and he'd known for years that he and Gaara weren't the only ones... The man had had that same look in his eyes, the loneliness.

Naruto's second-worst nightmares were still about that loneliness, about what he might have become if he'd believed Mizuki-sensei... if Iruka-sensei had never--

He shook his head sharply, banishing the memories. "Going to talk to him," he said, and set the tea-cup down on the table. "Hinata, you got work in the infirmary today, right?"

"Right," she nodded. "I don't get off till dinner-time; is that too late?"

"That'd leave me the whole day with nothing to do!" Naruto did a pretty good imitation of appalled; Hinata looked as if she were trying to think of a way out. So of course Shikamaru _had _to choose that moment to interject his lazy drawl.

"You can send your kage bunshin off to patrol with Neji, and I'll come with you. I've been wanting to talk to Lupin, anyway." He finished his toast and regarded his empty tea-cup mournfully again. Hinata hurried to refill it. "Thanks. It's a pain, but it'll work better this way."

"You just want to make sure I don't say too much," Naruto sulked.

Shikamaru smirked.

-

Monday night had been the full moon, and even after a full day of recovery Remus Lupin could feel the exhaustion tugging at him as he poked his wand at his office door. "_Alohomora,_" he murmured. The door sprang open obligingly, and Lupin trudged inside to sling his satchel on the desk and turn to--

Stare straight into the masked faces of two of Professor Dumbledore's new guards.

Werewolf instincts were never far away, especially not this soon after the full moon; he could feel the hair rising on the back of his neck as his lips fought to curl back in a snarl. He tightened them into a thin line instead, and kept his wand steadily pointing at the two masked men. One had the dark ponytail and the Deer mask he remembered from the night Harry'd been accosted on the way to his office; the other had a wild shock of bright blond hair, and wore that ridiculous mask that reminded him of a grinning frog. They had both abandoned their cloaks and wore the skin-tight black clothing and silvery armor that Deer had worn the first time he'd...visited. Lupin couldn't quite suppress the thought that it meant they were serious.

He'd heard Professor Flitwick's story in the staff room, after all, even if both Snape and McGonagall had declined comment. The blond guard had killed two men; "Professor Hyuuga," his falcon-masked cohort, had coldly and systematically tortured another into a full confession--and later suicide. Whoever and whatever they were, they weren't wizards, and they _certainly _weren't members of the Order of the Phoenix.

Dumbledore still trusted them, though. And to a man like Remus Lupin, that meant more than he could explain.

So he lowered his wand after a moment, and stepped sideways, towards the tea-kettle he lit with a flick of his wand. "I know I offered whatever assistance you might need," he said warily, "but your method of asking is...a little unorthodox. How may I help you?"

"We have question," Deer said. He'd appropriated the seat in front of Lupin's desk, and he sat slouched, shoulderblades barely touching the chair back. "We apologize, but waiting in the corridor is not wise. We do not desire to alarm student."

The blond sniggered something in a snide tone; Lupin was suddenly reminded, very strongly, of the type of student who sat in the back of the classroom and spent the entire period cracking jokes to his mates. The type of student Sirus had been...

He wrenched his thoughts away from that, and focused on wondering exactly how old these guards were. Their voices didn't sound much older than the seventh-years', and certainly younger than his own. Surely no adult could manage that boneless sprawl, either--or those gleaming and perfectly toned muscles. Each had a scarlet spiral tattooed on his left bicep; the blond was rubbing his absently. Perhaps he could nudge Miss Granger's thoughts in a new direction, and put those research skills of hers to use...

"I thank you for your foresight," he said, prodding the tea-kettle with his wand encouragingly. "I would also prefer not to alarm the students...But I would hope very much that there is nothing of which they _need _to be alarmed."

The two guards traded glances through their masks. The blond's head cocked enquiringly; Deer murmured something in a low voice, and the frog-masked one choked on what sounded very much like a giggle. Lupin revised his age-estimate down another two years.

"Good _gaki _no fear," the blond said cheerfully. "Bad..." He reached for the closed holster bound to his right thigh. Deer hissed something, and Frog sniped back. Lupin checked the water, and very deliberately set about making tea.

By the time he'd finished, the two guards seemed to have reached some sort of consensus. Deer took his tea-cup with a murmured thanks and placed it on the table; Frog was a little more enthusiastic. It was only as Lupin was settling at his desk with his own cup of tea that the second guard seemed to realize what Lupin had been wondering about as soon as he'd started preparing it.

Were they _really _planning to drink through their masks?

Deer was evidently too polite to have refused, but Frog stared down at his tea with a tilted head and bowed shoulders that bespoke his bewildered regret more clearly than words. At last he sighed and leaned back against the wall, cradling the steaming cup in one hand. "Question," he said. "You are waaurufu, yes? This is _jinchuuriki_?"

Lupin blinked. Deer's English was broken, but at least the words were intelligible. This--man? boy? Lupin had him pegged at perhaps eighteen--had only the vaguest approximation of a language that might, in the god-forsaken future, be called English. "Pardon," he said, "but I'm not familiar with those terms."

The deer-masked guard sighed. "He asked if you...contain a demon. We say _bijuu, _demon with tails. Those with bijuu sealed inside, we call _jinchuuriki, _power of human sacrifice. This is a way of controlling the demon."

Lupin took too large a gulp of tea, and scalded his tongue. "_Demon_?" He thought of adding _I don't know what you're talking about _(Sirius would have stuck a belligerent _the hell _in there) but his werewolf nature was no secret in the school anymore. Still, even the worst-educated foreigners should realize that lycanthropy was a disease, not a demonic curse. Much as it seemed like it... "Could you explain yourself a little more clearly, please?"

The two guards traded another masked glance, and Deer sighed again. At last he said, "We will share. First you explain the waaurufu."

He met Lupin's gaze through the eye-slits of the mask, straight-forward and challenging. Frog was leaning forward as well--headless of the small amount of tea that'd splashed over his cup to soak his gloved fingers and trickle down his pale vest. He must have an incredible pain tolerance, if he hadn't noticed the scalding tea dripping over his fingers. Lupin glanced back at Deer, chewing on his bottom lip.

When he spoke, it was in the slow and gentle voice he used for explaining difficult concepts to his students. "A werewolf isn't a demon; it's an ordinary witch or wizard who is stricken with a disease we call lycanthropy." Here he resorted shamelessly to Scamander's text, long-ago memorized. "Humans turn into werewolves only when bitten; there is no known cure, though recent developments in potion-making have to a great extent alleviated the worst symptoms. Once a month, at the full moon, the otherwise sane and normal wizard or Muggle afflicted transforms into a murderous beast." He paused for a moment, then finished the rest of the quotation in a quieter voice. "Almost uniquely among fantastic creatures, the werewolf actively seeks humans in preference to any other kind of prey."

Deer translated in a low voice for Frog, who nodded rapidly, sloshing more tea over his fingers. "Sick? You see Tsunade-_baa-chan,_ she fix anything!"

"No cure," Deer said, a little harsher. "Do not be a fool." He turned back to Lupin. "I have also read this book. It says little. I wish to know, if--"

"If you know of _bijuu!_" Frog interrupted cheerfully.

His comrade's shoulders slumped; for a moment Lupin had the very strong impression that only his presence was keeping Deer from knocking his masked forehead against the table. "_Baka,_" the pony-tailed guard muttered. "_Urusai!_"

Frog stiffened unhappily, and Lupin eyed him again. Was this _really _the deadly guard who'd killed two men and captured a third without sustaining a scratch himself? He acted more like an excitable third-year.

But the strength in that lean body and those corded muscles was obvious, and whatever strange magic they used, Lupin had no doubt that Dumbledore's chosen guards were very good at it.

"I think," he said gently, "that you'd better tell me a bit more about these _bijuu_."

"_I_ will explain," Deer said, shooting Frog a deadly glance through the narrow eye-slits of his mask. "As I said..._bijuu _are tailed beasts, demons. We know nine--from Shukaku, the One-Tail, to Kyuubi, the Nine-Tails." He paused for a moment, as if waiting for an outburst, but Frog was curiously still. "They have the ultimate chakra--you would say magic? Stronger than _any..._wizard. But some are...sealed inside human host."

"_Jinchuuriki,_" the blond said here, in a low growl. Deer acknowledged his contribution with a nod.

"Those who hold _jinchuuriki _hold power not imagined. We believe it is this your enemy seek." He paused again; Lupin could feel the weight of those hidden eyes, judging him. Finally the young man said, very quietly, "The book the thief try to steal contain hidden information about what _we _know is a _bijuu. _We know, because we know the _bijuu. _Dumburudoru does not, because he does not know. This book said that your Forest of Death contain such a beast. We would say, _nibi nekomata. _Two-tailed demon cat."

At this, the blond _did _burst out--flinging his cup straight at his partner's head along with a violent profusion of what could only be swear words. Deer inclined his head slightly to the left, and the cup sailed over the back of the chair and shattered against the opposite wall. Lupin winced. The house elves would _not _be happy.

He finished the rest of his tea while Frog continued to rant, and checked the time. His first class would be starting in twenty minutes, and he still had some preparation to finish. When Frog drew breath, he said quickly, "I do not know of a demon cat anywhere in the Forbidden Forest--or of any such beast as you describe. But I...have not been in the Forest much in recent years, and during my times there I haven't run into much." He surprised himself by a slight, wry smile. "Even most of the inhabitants of the Forbidden Forest tend to stay out of a werewolf's way. I'm sorry I can't help you."

Deer nodded and pushed himself up from his chair. "We thank you for your time," he said, with a slight formal bow. "If there is anything--you will contact us?"

"Of course," Lupin promised, though he wasn't quite sure why the words came so quickly to his lips. He didn't know these masked boys, after all, didn't really understand them, and certainly shouldn't trust them. But...

He had learned long ago, in the turbulent years of the war and the even more horrible years after James's and Lily's deaths and Sirius's supposed betrayal, to evaluate character quickly, ruthlessly, and accurately. Sometimes the balance between friend and foe could be disturbed with a word or a gesture, and survival--especially for a werewolf--had demanded that his decisions of trust be made in an instant, and be made right. Looking at those two masked faces, those tense bodies, those alert heads, Lupin made his decision.

"I don't know anything," he said. "But I can tell you who might..."

-

Midday on Wednesday found Harry, Ron, and Hermione braving the spitting rain and the slippery slopes to visit Hagrid in his hut at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. It was the first time they'd found to visit their friend since the start of term, and they had more than just the usual summer's worth of news to share. If any start of term at Hogwarts could be called usual, _this _was certainly not it.

But Hagrid's kitchen was already full when the door opened to Harry's knock, and Ron's mouth dropped open in outraged betrayal at the two sleek figures who sat around Hagrid's rough-hewn table, with their cloaks drying near the fire.

"_You,_" Ron sputtered, in a tone that seemed to contain equal parts admiration and exasperation. "You're _everywhere!_"

Naruto, wearing his Toad mask once more, gave the three of them a cheery wave. Deer-masked Shikamaru just grunted, but Hagrid looked from one set of guests to the other, broad brow furrowing.

"Hol' on, here. Yeh lot know each other?"

"We've met," Shikamaru grunted. He glanced outside. "Rain will not stop until tonight. We had better go."

He and Naruto pushed out of their chairs and grabbed their cloaks, while Hagrid reached for his moleskin overcoat. Harry stared. "What're you doing?"

"None o'yer business," Hagrid growled, looking furtive. "Head back up ter the castle, hear? I'll come see yeh later..." He shrugged into his overcoat and reached for his crossbow. "No following us, now."

"We do know what's going on, Hagrid," Hermione said. "Some of it, at least. We could help, couldn't we?"

Deer shook his head swiftly. "We cannot divide attention. Protecting you would distract us. You will return to the castle."

"Can't you at least tell us what you're doing?" Harry demanded. "This is something to do with the monster, isn't it?"

Hagrid looked even more furtive, but the blank masks of the two guards simply swung towards each other, and then back to him. This time Naruto spoke.

"_Go,_" he said, and there was no arguing with _that _tone.

They went, and as they climbed the slope back to the castle Harry glanced back to see two slender cloaked shapes and one enormous one slipping into the shadows of the Forbidden Forest. He clenched his fists. "They told us Monday night that we could talk, but they barely answered any of our questions. We _saw _him kill those guys, but--"

"But we're being treated like _babies,_" Ron finished indignantly. "Like we've never done anything dangerous at all! Blimey, can't they just tell us what they're doing?"

Hermione's voice was oddly quiet. "Are you sure you want to know?"

Both the boys glanced at her, startled. She drew her cloak a little closer around her, defiantly. "You heard them last night; you saw them today. They're going into the Forest, and whatever it is they're going after, they think it's something they'd have to protect us from. Think of what we saw last week. We never heard what happened to that man Naruto captured..."

"You think--?" Ron asked, low-voiced, and didn't need to finish his question.

Hermione shrugged. "I don't know. I asked Professor McGonagall, and she wouldn't tell me anything. But I don't think Professor Dumbledore's brought those guards here to do a job the Aurors could have done."

"You think the Aurors couldn't handle this?" Harry demanded. He wasn't sure whether or not he wanted to argue with that; on the one hand, Aurors were the elite, the Dark Wizard catchers, the corps he was still planning to someday enter. On the other hand, those three attackers sure hadn't seemed much like Dark Wizards...

She snorted softly. "Honestly, Harry, you were watching, weren't you? Those men weren't Muggles, but they weren't wizards, either. Shikamaru said their chakra's like our magic, but it works in ways we've never heard of... And the guards said they aren't wizards, either. I think they're the same type of people as the men who attacked. And I think Professor Dumbledore hired them because he knew what we'd be facing, and they're the only way we've got to fight it."

"So what about this monster?" Ron asked.

She shook her head. "I don't know. I've been reading as much as I can, and I can't come up with any possibilities. We know about Aragog, of course--"

Ron shivered. Harry patted his shoulder sympathetically. "Aragog doesn't seem exactly the type of beast they're looking for, though," he said. "And anyway, if they were going to fight him, Hagrid wouldn't lead them straight to him, would he? Same with Grawp."

"There's gotta be loads of worse stuff in the forest," Ron added ghoulishly, cheering up. "Fluffy's in there, isn't it? And there's the car..."

"Somehow," Hermione murmured, "I don't think a wild Ford Anglia is exactly the kind of beast they're looking for."

They bickered amicably the rest of the way up to the castle and crowded quickly into the entrance hall. Hermione shook her hair back, groaning.

"Oh, it's gone all frizzy again from the wet—"

"Hard to make you look worse," a scornful voice drawled from their left, "but congratulations, Granger, you've managed it."

Harry gritted his teeth as he turned to face Draco Malfoy. Ron wasn't quite so circumspect. "Bugger off, Malfoy," he snapped, and grabbed Hermione's elbow. "C'mon, 'Mione..."

The Slytherin boy wasn't quite so ready to leave it at that, though. His regular cronies Crabbe and Goyle tromped up the stairs from the dungeon as well and spread out behind him, glowering. Malfoy's hand was hovering perilously near his wand, and his pale face was tightened in a malicious sneer.

"That's right," he said softly. "Start running. It's all you lot are good for, anyway... All you'll be able to do..."

"What d'you mean by that?" Ron demanded belligerently. He dropped Hermione's arm and reached for his own wand. "_You're _the one who's picked the wrong side in this!"

"Oh, I don't think so," Malfoy said lazily, his cold grey eyes still fixed on Harry. "You'll get what's coming to you...same as Black did."

Harry's fingers closed around the warm wood of his own wand. "You're not fit to speak his name," he hissed. "_He _was--"

"A pathetic, flea-bitten fool?" Malfoy interrupted, and laughed. He had his wand in his hand, now. "Who're you going to lead to their deaths next, Potter? The Mudblood, here? Poor stupid Longbottom? The little Weasley b--"

His insult ended in a yelp as Ron whipped out his wand and shouted "_Expelliarmus!" _Malfoy jumped out of the way just in time; the force of the spell sent Goyle tumbling down the stairs. In the next moment all of them had their wands out, and Harry heard his own voice shouting hexes--

Just as a flash of black and silver rocketed between them, faster than any spell, and spun on its heel. "_Kaiten!_" Black hair whipped in a sudden blue cyclone, and to his astonishment Harry saw the rocks that'd shot out of Crabbe's wand hitting the spinning ball of blue energy and ricocheting away.

But the bolt of light from Harry's _Impedimentia_ hex struck the blue wall and vanished inside, and the spinning staggered suddenly, slowed. Through a haze of horror, Harry saw the guard's tattooed arm and a Falcon-masked face--

And Malfoy shouted at the top of his lungs: "_Caecare!_"

The blue light vanished; the guard staggered, dropping to one knee as his long black hair fell loose around his shoulders, and reached for his masked face with a strangled cry. Hermione gasped. Harry might have asked her what that spell was, but he was too shocked to speak. Malfoy stood frozen across the entrance hall, his wand drooping from his fingers, as they stared at the guard kneeling on the cold stone floor, covering his masked eyes with one hand and reaching for the knife-holster on his leg with the other...

And then Snape was there, sweeping up from the dungeons in a flourish of black robes, pushing past a recovering Goyle and a stunned Malfoy to stand at the guard's side. "_What,_" he demanded, in a voice like a whip, "did you use?"

For a long moment no one spoke. Then Hermione said, in a tiny voice very unlike her own, "He--Professor--Malfoy hit him with _Caecare._ He's blind."


	9. In Which Hinata Hates Her Family

Disclaimer: Recent (manga) events are pretty indicative that we don't own _Naruto. _With Book 7 coming out in July, we kinda wished we owned _Harry Potter_—or even a minor share of the profits!—but must sadly confess that all we own is a couple cracked-out ideas and a lot of fun.

Authors' Note: First thanks go to our beta, Phoenix of Eternity, who's saved us time and again from making major fools of ourselves. Thanks also to all of you who've supported us along the way with your encouraging and intelligent reviews. We're sorry this chapter took so long; all we can promise in the future is that we will _not _let _Masks and Shadows _die. The conclusion is coming…you may just have to wait a while. Thank you for your patience!

We were very amused at your reactions to the cliff-hanger at the end of the last chapter. (And, admittedly, a little disappointed that nothing else in the chapter seemed worthy of mention.) Here's hoping that we follow up well.

* * *

Masks and Shadows 

Chapter Nine:

In Which Hinata Hates Her Family and Shikamaru Takes a Stroll

Hinata wasn't sure when she'd ever been so frightened before. The day they'd carried Neji back to Konoha with a hole through his shoulder and his heart barely beating, she'd been desperately worried, but comforted by the knowledge that Konoha's greatest healers could cure _any _injury. When she stood before the assembled members of the Hyuuga clan to formally renounce her claim to her inheritance, she'd been almost paralyzed by nerves, but her father's calm face had brought a profound relief. When their ANBU team had been included in the force that had crushed the last remaining members of the Akatsuki, she'd barely slept for worrying over her teammates, but she'd had confidence in their strength; when they fought, she felt no fear.

But now… Between Neji's silent shock and the children's stares and the way Professor Snape looked like he was about to _kill _something as he guided her stumbling cousin to the infirmary bed, everything blended together into a stomach-clenching mass of panic. If it had been her, she knewshe wouldn't have been able to remain so calm. How Neji could, how he could stand seeing _nothing _and still not despair or lose control… She couldn't understand it. Vision was their life. Without that…

She stood beside his bed, trembling a little as she looked down at his masked face, as fierce and inscrutable as ever. How could he be blind? Nothing looked different, but his breathing was quicker, his muscles tense: the only signs he showed that anything was wrong. She desperately wanted to reach out and pull away the mask, to somehow convince herself that everything would be fine—but then Madam Pomfrey was there, shooing everyone away and taking charge. Hinata was vaguely aware of three children (not children, she reminded herself; they were only a few years younger than her) hovering near the door until Pomfrey's snapping voice sent them scurrying.

"He was struck with _Caecare,_" Snape said in a low voice as the door closed again. "I trust I can leave it to you?"

Pomfrey nodded, her lips pursing as she trailed her green-sparking wand through the air above her patient. "Of course, Severus. Take the children away; I know they'll be right outside the door still."

Snape muttered something under his breath; Hinata wasn't sure she'd have caught it even if his language was one she knew perfectly. But then he was gone, his black cloak billowing around him as he strode towards the door, and she pushed him out of her mind.

Neji was the most important thing, now.

"C-can I help?"

Pomfrey glanced up at her, as if in surprise, and shook her head. "I don't think so, dear. The counter-curse is far too complex." Her words were difficult to follow, but her gentle tone was clear enough. There was nothing Hinata could do.

Neji's masked head shifted a little in the pillow at Hinata's voice. His breathing didn't change, but Hinata could see the tightening muscles in his neck. Was he frightened? Or in pain? She knew he wouldn't say anything, either way.

"I'm going to take the curse off you now," Madam Pomfrey said slowly and carefully, bending down over Neji. He did not move. "You'll have to remove your mask."

The tense muscles in Neji's throat went even tighter; his rising chest stilled, as if he'd caught his breath. Hinata felt her own breath freeze in her throat. She hadn't thought of that, hadn't realized. No one was supposed to know; they would break their cover, and the _manji _would be—

The _manji. _

His seal, the damning Hyuuga curse seal. It reacted to threats against the Byukugan, and if Neji was without sight, if this woman were to use chakra or magic or whatever she wanted to call it, against him…

"You can not," she heard herself whisper in a soft, trembling voice. Pomfrey glanced up, puzzled and a little irritated, but Hinata ignored the disapproval in the woman's eyes. Neji was her cousin and her teammate, and his survival mattered far, far more than what the woman thought. "You will hurt him if you do anything."

"I hardly think so, child," the older woman said, frowning. "I've been removing curses since before either of you were out of nappies. This isn't one we commonly face here at the school, but I still know how to deal with it."

Hinata shook her head. No matter how Pomfrey felt, she couldn't back down. She absolutely could not let Pomfrey do anything to Neji until Hinata could find out whether or not the _manji_ would react. Her certainty gave her voice strength. "Please. I need check something first."

The medi-witch's lips pursed; Hinata fully expected another refusal. She tensed, gathering her chakra—but then Pomfrey nodded at her and took a step back.

"I'll give you five minutes," she said in a slightly gentler tone. "The longer we wait on this, the worse it'll be for him."

Hinata nodded quickly. She would have agreed to almost anything for just a few seconds alone with Neji. All the same, she waited until the older woman had retreated a few more steps before she bent over Neji's bed.

"Neji-niisan," she whispered to him in their own language, feeling her own eyes burn and silently cursing them. "Is the seal…?"

He didn't speak, but he shook his head just the littlest fraction. Hinata let her breath out in a relieved sigh and glanced back at Pomfrey. Maybe…maybe things would be all right.

Still, though.

"Their medic is going to heal your eyes," she continued, still whispering. "I'll make sure nothing happens, though. I'll be standing right here." She wished she sounded more confident than she felt, but right now they really didn't have the time to be very cautious. The family curse seal could flare up at any moment, and Pomfrey had said they had limited time.

She stepped back slowly and nodded to the older woman. "Please do not remove mask," she said softly. "I know his people. Just fix."

This would work out fine. Their mission wouldn't be in jeopardy (as long as she worked out a way to explain her obvious connection to the guards) and Neji's eyes would be fine and everything would turn out okay. Naruto would tease them about this, when they were back in their rooms, and Shikamaru would demand irritably if just _one _of them could keep out of trouble for just one day. And in the quiet of the early morning before Naruto and Shikamaru had tumbled out of bed, Neji would, hesitant and a little awkward, say _Thank you._

She wished it didn't feel like she was just telling herself that.

Pomfrey nodded briskly and flicked her wand, calling out another of her strange-sounding spells. Hinata held her breath, turned her back for half a moment, and called up the Byakugan as the medi-witch directed a thin beam of yellow light at Neji's mask. He seemed okay; Pomfrey wasn't having proble—

Neji's scream of sheer agony froze her blood. She was at his side within another heartbeat, chakra-bright hands cupping his head, voice raw as she shrieked for Pomfrey to stop. Something had gone wrong—the seal!

He didn't stop screaming and thrashing even after the medi-witch stumbled back, and it took everything Hinata had to calm him. She could see and feel his chakra roiling; it stung when it collided with hers. But she had to get it steady, had to stop the seal's activation no matter what.

Her father had taught her how to initiate and how to counteract the family curse seal, something she had always thought she would never need to know. Even when she was still Heir, she knew she would never make use of the attack. She couldn't remember what had happened that day when she was three, but she did remember what Neji had once been like, what the memory of that day had done to him. What her family had done to itself.

Right now, however, she was infinitely grateful for her father's lessons. Once she'd somewhat settled Neji's chakra, she pulled her hands away and quickly performed the seals. With the control jutsu cast, she glanced over at Pomfrey. "Please, now!"

It was beyond difficult, holding back the seal as the other woman cast her spell again and set to work. The curse seal writhed, fighting against her control with a strength Hinata had never guessed it had. And all the while Neji was in pain, still thrashing, head still thrown back with the screams he somehow suppressed. Hinata was glad for that; his throat would be sore enough as it was.

Pomfrey stepped away at last, and Neji's thrashing stopped as soon as it had started. Hinata dropped the hand seal she'd been holding as she heard Pomfrey head over to the cabinets in which she kept her medicines. "Niisan?" she whispered, leaning down over him again. A cold knot formed in her stomach as she stared at his silent, hawk-faced mask. The Hyuuga curse seal could do worse, in any shinobi's opinion, than kill. Better for Neji to be dead than to be left comatose, brain-fried and useless.

Neji would think that way, at least.

"Niisan, please answer me!"

"Give him space, child." Pomfrey tugged at Hinata's elbow chidingly. When Hinata opened her mouth to protest, the old witch just shook her head and towed her farther from the bed. "I'll let you know how he is. And I won't remove the mask."

"But—"

"Go and rest. You've done what you can; leave the rest to me now." She guided Hinata to the door, letting her go only once the young woman relaxed and let her eyes leave her silent cousin. "I will let you know. Now go."

Hinata didn't have much choice in the matter. Pomfrey was right, after all. For all the strangeness of her magic, she was a formidable medic, and now that Hinata had stabilized the curse seal she could do nothing more to help Neji that Pomfrey couldn't do better. Besides, Hinata already had to explain her strange connection with the masked guard, and Madame Pomfrey wasn't privy to the secret of their mission here. If Hinata made a scene she would only draw more suspicion.

"I understand," she said at last, bowing her head in a picture of humility. When she looked up, Pomfrey was already shutting the door. Hinata waited only a moment, listening for a cry she didn't hear, before she set her jaw and translocated to their rooms as quickly as she could form the seals.

The others had to know.

-

The others, unfortunately, were still within the Forbidden Forest, traveling at a gruelingly slow pace beside the enormous groundskeeper Hagrid. Shikamaru could _feel _the day being eaten away, and he knew that they were an easy target for any enemies keeping pace or preparing an ambush. But the groundskeeper knew these woods and knew the land, and so logic dicated that they had to follow him—at least until they knew the area well enough to search successfully on their own.

It didn't make the slow pace grate any less, but there was nothing he could do. At least the rain had stopped.

Naruto, on the other hand, wasn't taking things so well in stride. He wasn't muttering—unusual, for the blond—but his tight shoulders and tense muscles said more than words possibly could. For once Shikamaru couldn't blame him.

"He's taking us in circles," Naruto whispered after a little over an hour. He scratched beneath his jaw and kicked at a thorny shrub. "There's no way we haven't been here before."

"And you don't know this forest," Shikamaru reminded him in exasperation. If his partner had just stayed quiet this trip might have continued to be almost-endurable. But with Naruto, asking for silence was usually asking for the impossible, especially if the other ninja was bored or didn't feel he was being challenged. "We have to trust him."

"He can't even speak a language! _Any _language!"

"That's inaccurate," Shikamaru said, trying very hard not to sigh, "and he's the only guide we have. If you'd managed anything in searching the forest on your own, we might not have to rely on him. As it is, we can't be picky if we want to finish this mission within a decent amount of time."

"It still sucks," Naruto mumbled. But he put his attention back where it belonged, on the path beneath them and the dripping woods around them, and didn't say anything else. He _could _concentrate when it was necessary, although lately Shikamaru found those moments to be much too few and far between.

They spent another tedious half-hour picking their way through the forest before Hagrid suddenly stopped, swung to the left, and rushed through the bushes. Branches snapped alarmingly in his wake. Naruto and Shikamaru darted after him, the blond already readying chakra in his hand while Shikamaru palmed some kunai.

No enemy ninja or renegade wizard waited for them, but Shikamaru's muscles tensed as much as if he'd seen Uchiha Sasuke standing in the shrubbery. From Naruto's stance, it was something he was much more likely to attack. But Hagrid didn't seem fazed at all, crooning softly as he hunkered down next to the strange creature lying on the ground with its gashed leg oozing blood. After a moment the two ninja lowered their guard. The chakra swirling around Naruto's fingertips dissipated slowly as his deer-masked partner returned the kunai to their holster. They exchanged wary glances.

At any other time Shikamaru would have been happy to let Naruto take over with a barrage of questions—but Hagrid's thick accent and the blond's limited English made their attempts at conversation just so much gibberish. Shikamaru himself stepped closer as he dropped his last kunai in its holster. "What is that?"

Hagrid looked up, startled. His black eyes flicked over the two ninja in surprise; then he made a growling noise of comprehension. "'Course ye'd see 'em," he said softly, apparently to himself; he raised his voice a moment later. "This's a thestral."

"…A tasutar?"

Either Hagrid didn't hear Naruto's question, or he chose to ignore it as he turned his attention back to the injured animal. It looked like a type of horse to Shikamaru, but he couldn't make sense of this creature: shining white eyes, leather wings, a jet-black skeletal body. The face and neck looked wrong for a horse as well, almost lizardish and far too wild to belong to any equine. Shikamaru didn't like the animal at all. Something about it didn't feel safe—and it wasn't just the blood.

"They're magic," Hagrid announced, almost as if he could understand Shikamaru's silent question. He stroked the beast's neck, and the ugly head lifted a little at his touch. "Only see 'em if ye've seen death. Beautiful creatures they are."

In Hagrid's eyes, perhaps; Shikamaru wasn't one to judge. He frowned behind his mask and focused his attention on the wound. At least _that _was something familiar to him.

From the long, savage gash down the thestral's left hind leg, it had obviously been attacked; there were no sharp branches anywhere close by that it could have stumbled against, and the cut was much too clean to have been inflicted by anything dull or jagged. But why would something attack only the leg? A wild animal would try to stay out of range of those dangerous hooves, and a hunter would go for a killing blow.

So why had they missed? And who did the attacking?

"Those missing-nin you killed might not have been alone," Shikamaru whispered to Naruto after a few seconds. His frown deepened. Naruto's encounter in the castle's halls had left him with a bad feeling. He had trouble believing those were the only enemy ninja they would face, especially given the information Neji had obtained. No further attacks had been made since the disastrous attempt last week, but their absence only made Shikamaru uneasy. What was their enemy waiting for?

"You think?" Naruto took a step closer to the animal, kneeling beside Hagrid to inspect the injured leg. "Yeah, it's a deep cut—probably from a kunai. But why only one cut? This thing looks like it could put up a fight, but there's no other wounds."

Hagrid lumbered to his feet before Shikamaru could answer. His beard-shrouded face was darker than the shinobi had ever seen it. "I gotta help 'im. Sorry, but yer tour's gonna end 'ere."

Shikamaru nodded. "Understood."

"Wait, what?" Naruto straightened and looked between the two men, his smirking toad mask matching the curiosity in his voice. "What's going on?"

"He's staying to help the animal." Nara Shikamaru, heir to his family's deer herds, could understand. But really…it would be easiest to kill the creature. Wild animals like this didn't have much of a chance with a wounded leg. Death would be merciful. "We're on our own," he clarified.

Naruto growled low in his throat. "Then this was all just a waste of time? If we're gonna search by ourselves we should've done that from the beginning, like me and Hinata did!"

"It can't be helped." Shikamaru shrugged. Besides, they were in a better position than they'd been; they knew this section of the forest fairly well by now, and Hagrid had already instructed them on a few of its dangers. If they had to, they could just ask the groundskeeper for assistance again at a later time.

The problem with that, though, was that Shikamaru had a nasty feeling that they didn't _have _much more time.

He turned to Hagrid and bowed his head anyway. "We are going, then," he said in English. "Thank you for helping."

"Sorry," Hagrid apologized, though he barely glanced up to acknowledge their departure. He'd knelt in the leaf mould again and was busily pulling things out of his pockets, presumably searching for bandages. "I gotta take care o' this guy."

Naruto grumbled under his breath, kicked a pile of fallen leaves, and then shrugged. "Ah well. We've still got most of the day ahead of us, and I haven't pulled an all-nighter in a while. It'll be good training, right?"

Shikamaru shrugged again. His partner's rapid mood-swings were occasionally grating, and he privately wondered why Naruto's optimism didn't wear him out—it certainly tired Shikamaru! The constant language switching was exhausting as well, and Shikamaru hadn't slept particularly well last night.

But they were wasting time just standing there. Shikamaru focused his chakra and jumped up into the trees, continuing on the path they'd already begun. They'd lost their guide, but that didn't mean they couldn't continue. As long as he knew which direction the edge of the forest lay, they could search until it was time to end their shift and return to the castle.

It had begun to rain again. Shikamaru resolved to finish this mission as quickly as possible. He had no desire to spend any more time in this country than was absolutely necessary.

-

"Have I ever told you how much I hate detention?"

Neither Harry nor Hermione responded; presumably they were just glad that detention was all Snape could inflict on them for fighting in the hallways, since no one had intended the guard's injury. Well, neither of them had had to spend a night vomiting up slugs onto ancient plaques and then scrubbing them off again! Ron glared across the empty classroom at Malfoy and his cronies, and especially at Professor Snape, who stood at the head of the room.

Snape looked even more unhappy than usual, if that was possible. "Be silent, Weasley," he snapped. "Ten points from Gryffindor."

Ron clenched his teeth against the words he would have loved to say; Hermione's hand was hovering close enough to his leg to pinch him if he'd let any of them slip. But Snape seemed preoccupied; he turned back to Malfoy, speaking in a voice too low for Ron to easily hear. Not that Ron was bothering to listen. Of course Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were going to get off scot-free, and Ron and his friends were going to die; there was no point in hearing what the Potions Master had to say.

Snape was a bloody git like that.

But somewhere Ron must have still had a faint hope of salvation—or perhaps it was just that Harry and Hermione, sitting on either side of him, were so obviously upset. He was good and silent, if a bit fidgety. When Snape finally returned his attention to them, Ron felt like he was about to fall over from the tension. Harry looked like he was going to throw up.

"You three," Snape snarled, not bothering to keep his glare in check. "You will be scrubbing the Owlery." Malfoy sniggered; Snape ignored him. "_Without _the use of magic."

He seemed to be waiting for the inevitable outburst, but nothing came. Hermione looked a little paler, and Harry a little redder, but they all kept their tongues. Apparently satisfied, Snape finally turned away, beckoning the Slytherin boys to follow him to whatever detention they'd managed to get.

"Bloody git!" Ron muttered once the door slammed behind them. He jumped out of his seat and kicked at the floor, his hands fisted so tightly that his knuckles went white. "That's even worse than the Trophy Room. Nobody's cleaned the Owlery in _years_! I bet Malfoy and his thugs didn't even get in trouble!"

"Of course they did," Hermione said, although her voice sounded a little strained. She still wasn't very used to the detention thing. "Even Snape can't let them go unpunished. It was Malfoy who cursed the guard."

The guard—Neji. Maybe _that _was why Hermione sounded so strained. She'd been pretty shaken up afterwards, and even Harry had been unusually quiet. Ron glared at the floor. The long-haired guard wasn't exactly his favorite, but still. He'd been trying to protect them, hadn't he?

"Not that Snape would care about that," Harry said, slipping out of his chair and heading for the door. "He's still pretty mad at them—about what happened last week, I think. Come on. If we hurry, we can stop by the guards' rooms and tell them what happened before we go to the Owlery."

Ron couldn't really argue with that, though he wasn't looking forward to explaining their role in this mess to the guards—and even less to cleaning up owl droppings. This night was going to suck, he could just tell. _Nothing _could make it better.

Hermione laid her hand on his arm; he glanced down at her, curious. She smiled quickly, still a little pale, and squeezed his arm before hurrying after Harry.

Okay, so maybe _some _things could make it better.

But no one answered the door of the guards' room, not even when Ron pounded as hard as he could. Harry sighed at last and led them up to the Owlery, promising that his experience cleaning his Muggle relatives' home would make the work go quickly. He seemed a little dismayed by the sight of all they had to do, but he rolled up his robe sleeves and set to work, and Ron had to follow his example.

By dinner-time they were barely half-way done, and Ron was filthy and sweaty and sore from hours spent bent over scrubbing at the floors.

"This really sucks," he muttered for what had to be the twentieth time. It only earned him a stern look from Hermione and an eye roll from Harry. "Well, it does!"

"And you've said so at least a dozen times, Ron." Hermione brushed her sweaty hair from her face with the back of her hand, as it once again fell out of the quick ponytail she'd put it in. "We're quite aware of how you feel about this."

"Yeah, but—"

The sound of footsteps on the stairs silenced him. All three of them turned to look at the stairs. Ron had a brief moment of panic—had he said something shouldn't have? Was it a teacher?—but that quickly subsided once he saw the woman entering the tower.

"Hinata?"

Harry stood, made a futile effort at brushing off his robes, and tried to smile reassuringly at the young woman. She didn't seemed startled to have found them—and for such a slender young woman, who had walked so silently when she was with her fellow guards, her steps had been very loud on the Owlery stairs. She must have walked purposely loud for them to hear.

"Hello." Her voice sounded a little worn, and Ron immediately felt guilty. He hadn't thrown the blinding curse, but he _had _started the fight. If he'd kept his temper, her cousin would be all right.

She didn't seem to know of his part in the fight, though. She glanced over him without accusation in her eyes as she looked around the filthy Owlery, its bedraggled cleaners, and its perches filled with annoyed owls. "You are being punish?"

"For the fight," Harry said. He looked as if he wanted to say more, but he bit his lip and settled for looking miserable instead.

"Ah." Hinata stepped past them, moving towards a window to stare at the rain falling outside. "You will finish soon?"

"Hopefully," Hermione said in a small voice. "We have class in the morning."

Ron almost groaned. So what _that _what she was all tense about? Leave it to Hermione to be thinking about schoolwork!

"I see." If Hinata was disturbed by Hermione's fixation on school, she didn't show it. She didn't actually seem to be paying much attention to the conversation at all. She rose onto her toes, staring out the window as though searching for something.

Harry cleared his throat. "So, uh…He's gonna be okay, right?"

The guard didn't respond for a moment; Ron wondered if she'd understood or even heard the question. But right as Hermione opened her mouth, looking like she was going to repeat what Harry had asked, Hinata turned to look at them. Her face was calm, sweet, and as shuttered as if she'd donned the mouse-faced mask.

"He will be fine. Thank you for concern." She smiled slightly and then turned to look back out the window, her attention obviously elsewhere. Maybe Neji was a subject she didn't want to talk about. Ron could understand that; if one of his family members had been injured, or any of his friends, he wouldn't want to talk about it either. Whatever the reason, Hinata continued staring out into the rain for a few more moments before she turned back to the door.

"I leave you to work. Good night."

The door whispered close behind her. Ron waited until her footsteps were almost fading away before he glanced at his friends.

"Did anyone else find that weird?"

"Something's not right," Hermione agreed, frowning. "There wasn't really any reason for her to come up here. If she was looking for us, she certainly didn't do anything about it."

"So let's find out why!" Ron set off for the stairs, but Hermione's hand on his arm tugged him back. "What?" he demanded. "We can finish this later, can't we?"

Hermione shook her head. When Ron looked to Harry for support, he received only one of those "don't be stupid" looks that Hermione had so often given them over the course of their friendship. _Harry _wasn't supposed to be wearing that look—he was supposed to be on Ron's side!

"There won't be later, and you know it," Hermione said coolly. "I personally don't want extra detention added onto tonight."

"Yeah, but—"

"We still have time," Harry said. He glanced significantly in the direction of Gryffindor Tower. "And we have the map. It won't be hard to find her."

Ron sighed, but they had him. "Brilliant," he muttered, picking up his scrubbing brush and getting back to work. And if he happened to use a little magic, well… It wasn't like he hadn't done _most _of the work by hand.

-

Jiraiya rather liked Madame Rosmerta's pub. The food was good, the liquor better, and the information best. He'd managed to pick up quite a few tidbits about the so-called Death Eaters and their leader, as well as random gossip about the area: types of people, types of work, the things that made their little world tick. Even something about a shack that cried and giant spiders living in closets. Now it was just a matter of processing what was true and what was exaggeration—and waiting for the right moment.

Such as the kids finding the bijuu (best option) or some good information on it (do-able).

He was relaxing in his usual table, enjoying a nice Firewhiskey at the end of a long day and formulating some good scenes for his next book—exotic girls and far-away locales were a sure-fire combination for a best-seller, and some of these witchy women _definitely _deserved his writing prowess—when a very distinctive 'poof' caught his ears from the street just outside, coupled with a very familiar chakra signature.

Jiraiya sighed, closed his notebook, and dropped a few coins on the table. His research on his next great novel would just have to wait. Naruto had sent a messenger, and Jiraiya had a sinking feeling that it wasn't bearing good news.


	10. In Which Naruto Is Bewildered

Disclaimer: If we owned _Naruto, _none of the events of the past two years of manga would ever have happened.

Authors' Notes: Sorry for the long wait, but that's how life goes. Thanks to our beta, Phoenix of Eternity, for her willingness to kick us in the pants. And thanks to our fans and reviewers, who've refused to give up hope.

Masks and Shadows

Chapter Ten:

In Which Naruto Is Bewildered And Harry Goes for a Run

The miserable rain had trailed off again, leaving only the squelching of forest mould underfoot and the scattered sounds of water dripping from leaves. Deep in the Forbidden Forest, however, even these sounds dimmed to nearly nothing under the hum of energy coming from the twisted, ancient tree looming in front of Naruto and Shikamaru. At a guess, Naruto would have estimated it had been dead for decades—but it hadn't decayed. For meters around it, no plants grew. At the very edge of the clearing, nearly ten meters away from the tree, sickly scrub and stunted trees struggled for life.

"The _hell _is this?"

Naruto took a careful step towards the impossible tree. The toad he'd summoned just moments before had taken one look at the tree and demanded to be _anywhere _else. Jiraiya would arrive soon, but until he came, they had to figure this out on their own.

Shikamaru didn't seem to have an answer to his question. Even his footsteps sounded muted, and his body grew duller and fuzzier as he stepped away from Naruto to study the tree. Colors blurred, almost as though the tree was attempting to suck up everything around it. Naruto's chakra roiled and churned. Deep in his mind, the Kyuubi growled, and its anger burned through the seal.

If the demon-fox was upset, they _had _to be on the right track. Naruto's long-ago fight with Gaara, and his more recent experiences with other bijuu, had taught him that the tailed beasts were by nature solitary and aggressive. They were also extremely territorial. With the Kyuubi this disturbed, clawing at the bars of Naruto's mind, he was pretty sure they had to be infringing on something else's territory.

And that something didn't want them there.

"Naruto. Come here." Shikamaru's call tugged him out of his thoughts. He jogged over to the other side of the tree, trying not to shiver as he passed close by. He'd thought that Lupin-sensei had a strange presence, but his feeling of unease around the werewolf teacher was nothing compared to this. The tree exuded a sense of malevolence as hate-filled and violent as the Kyuubi's.

"You find something?" he asked, nervously jogging from foot to foot.

"Maybe." Shikamaru knelt down, hands brushing at the roots, pushing moss and lichen away. "There's a faint glow from here." He dug a little more before pulling his hand away with a strangled yelp.

"What's that?" Naruto demanded. He peered over his partner's shoulder, staring at the strange glyphs carved into the tree root. They glowed with an ugly yellow light, uncomfortably like demonic chakra. The symbols certainly weren't Japanese, but they didn't look like the English letters he knew, either.

Shikamaru stood and brushed off his knees. "I can't read it—it's not any language I recognize. Jiraiya-sama should be here soon, though. He might know it." He looked up at the tree, and Naruto could picture the frown tugging at his partner's face. "This has to be it."

Kyuubi's chakra burned in Naruto's gut, fighting to break free. Naruto squashed it back; at this stage, it was still easy enough to control. He was more concerned about what to do with this thing. Obviously the seal hadn't been broken, but he also had no clue how they were going to return it to Konoha.

"Ero-sennin better get here soon, or—" He cut off abruptly and turned around, dropping into a crouch. His hands darted down to his holsters and came up filled with kunai. Shikamaru was already lifting his own hands in the first seal of a binding jutsu.

But the rumbling voice was instantly familiar. "Looks like your senses haven't been dulled by that thing, whatever else it's doing." Jiraiya stepped out of the shadows on the edge of the clearing, his goofy smirk quickly sobering. "I could feel the energy at the edge of the forest. Once you get through the barrier, it's nearly suffocating."

"Barrier?" Naruto glanced at Shikamaru, whose shoulders lifted in a shrug. He turned back to his old teacher, frowning behind his mask. "We didn't go through any barrier."

"You did—you just didn't feel it." Jiraiya picked his way across the dead ground to stand between the two ANBU. He laid a hand on the tree, but his palm barely brushed the bark before he hissed and pulled away. "Kyuubi must have burned a hole through it for you two; I had to break it myself." He crouched down to look at the characters Shikamaru had found carved into the gnarled root, but he didn't touch them.

"Can you read it?" Shikamaru crouched beside the sannin. The harsh glow reflected off his mask, turning the white ceramic a demonic yellow. "This character looks a little like our kanji for binding, but nothing else makes any sense…"

Naruto quickly grew bored with their murmured discussion. He circled the edge of the clearing, still gripping his kunai. If the enemy ninja had sensed Jiraiya's approach, or had found the barrier as well, they didn't have much time before a fight broke out. And since he didn't have the faintest clue what his teammate and his old sensei were talking about, he'd have to make sure they had the time they needed.

He paused in his prowling to quickly form a shadow clone. Hinata and Neji needed to know about this.

-

It was well past midnight when Hinata finally returned to the infirmary and Neji. The halls were quiet—even the ghosts were elsewhere—and she silently slipped into the room. Her cousin hadn't moved since she'd last seen him and she took a seat on the nearest bed, watching him closely.

"You don't need to worry about me."

His voice was hoarse, barely more than a whisper, but Hinata still jolted slightly. She slipped off the bed and moved to his side, careful not to touch him. "How do you feel? Can you…?"

Within the dark holes of the mask's eyes, white glinted. He turned his head toward her, but Hinata still hesitated before gently removing his mask.

"I can see." Darkness shadowed his eyes, and the skin was blistered like he'd been burned, but he watched her closely and she knew he wasn't lying. "I…apologize."

Hinata shook her head and smiled. "There's no need."

"Be that as it may." He shifted to sit up but paused, not quite able to hide the flash of pain in his face. When Hinata moved to help, however, he waved her off. "I'm fine." Eventually, after a few failed tries, Neji was able to sit up in the bed, head resting against the backboard of the bed. "Where are the others?"

Hinata didn't pull away until she was absolutely sure he was fine, but the question was easy to answer. "They're still out in the Forest." So far out she couldn't even see them with the Byakugan, even from the tallest tower in the castle. She'd been trying not to worry about them—and with Neji unconscious she'd had something much more pressing to fret over—but now she couldn't deny the heavy feeling that sat in her stomach. They should have returned long ago. Even the groundskeeper had returned a little under an hour earlier.

So where were they?

A scuffling noise outside the Infirmary disturbed both Hyuuga. Hinata sprang off the bed and into a ready crouch, facing the door. Even injured Neji tried to reach for a kunai he knew couldn't be there.

"Sorry. It's just me."

Naruto stepped through the door, frog mask still covering his face, his untidy flop of yellow hair dulled in the moonlight streaming through the windows. Hinata didn't straighten from her fighting stance. She engaged the Byakugan and traced his chakra paths. Regardless of similarities in style or lineage, no two ninja had the same feel or arrangement of their chakra coils, and the Byakugan couldn't be fooled.

But Naruto's chakra was nearly as familiar as Neji's, and it was really him. Hinata straightened, releasing the Byakugan with a relieved smile. "Naruto-kun. We were beginning to worry."

He flapped his hand in a dismissive gesture. "What's been going on? Why's Neji lazing around in bed?" He continued before Hinata could answer, a new urgency trickling into his voice. "We found it! Or at least I'm really sure we did. Jiraiya and Shikamaru and me are still there checking it out, but if Ero-sennin and us could reach it, then the enemy isn't far behind."

Bedclothes shifted behind her; Hinata spun and reached out to push Neji back into bed. He was trying hard to pretend that he could move without effort, but she could still see his faint grimace and the sweat beading his forehead. "Neji-niisan, no! You have to stay here and rest!"

Neji shook his head and pushed her hands away. "I'm fine. This is what we came here for." He pushed away any further arguments and stood, although he swayed slightly as he reached for his mask. "I'm not incapacitated. I'll be fine."

"Niisan…"

Naruto didn't quite hold Hinata's reservations. "Good. We have to hurry." Neji nodded and took a few steps away from the bed. Hinata hovered at his side. She was well aware of their true purpose, but there was such a thing as pushing oneself too far. And her cousin had the bad habit of doing that frequently.

But the shadow clone was already moving, and they had no time to waste. One hand on Neji's arm, Hinata strode as quickly as she could. They stopped at their quarters for only a few moments to pick up her armor and what weapons they would need. Neji remained silent at her side, skin dabbed with sweat. Naruto jogged in place with impatience. As soon as Hinata slid her mask over her face, he bolted for the door. They followed him out of the castle and towards the Forest. By the time they reached Hagrid's hut, Naruto wasn't the only one running.

-

Harry rushed out of the Owlery as soon as they'd finished their cleaning. His friends stumbled after him, feet pounding on the stone stairs. They didn't have much time and every second counted.

"We need the Cloak," Hermione was saying behind him, and he could imagine her counting down on her fingers even as she ran alongside Ron. "We have the Map and our wands."

"What? No books?"

"Don't be daft, Ron," she chided, and Harry smiled as he jumped three steps and skidded around a corner. Gryffindor Tower was close by, and Harry had to fight the urge to pause to glance at the Marauder's Map again. They'd been lucky to spot the three names rushing off towards the Forest as early as they had; he didn't want to use up anymore of their time. The Map would still work once they were in the Forest.

The Fat Lady scowled as they skidded to a stop in front of Gryffindor Tower. "Do you know how loud you were? I was just trying to get to sleep when—"

"Lionheart!" Hermione panted.

The portrait hmphed in annoyance, but she swung open the door. Harry and his friends leapt through. "Stay here!" he called as he rushed up the stairs to his room to grab the Cloak. Seamus and Dean lay snoring like logs, but Neville stirred and almost woke. "Harry?"

"Go back to sleep," Harry hissed. He couldn't spare the time to explain; he rushed down the stairs again, jumping the last few steps. He tossed the Cloak to Ron and pulled out the Map. "C'mon, we can still catch them by the edge of the Forest if we hurry."

Getting out of the castle was easier than they'd expected. The Marauder's Map and the Invisibility Cloak made it possible to easily bypass any teachers, and at this late hour no one was expecting them to sneak out anyway. The difficulty would be in catching up with the guards, already dangerously close to the edge of the Forest.

They ran hard and fast across the grounds, barely half-covered by the Cloak. Creeping down a hallway without showing a foot was hard enough; dashing together across uneven ground was practically impossible. Harry was pushing the hardest; if they lost this chance they would probably never be able to catch up with the guards. And if they didn't…

Well, Harry had survived the forest before, with help and a good bit of luck. The guards might have skills he couldn't even understand, but even they could probably use a hand.

The trio had barely covered half the distance from the castle to the Forest when Harry caught sight of the guards, already edging close to being lost in the outskirts of the trees. He didn't pause to think of the possible consequences as he dashed out from under the Cloak, sprinting flat out, his feet pounding against the uneven ground. Ron and Hermione called out after him, but he ignored them. The guards were entering the tree line and he had no time.

Harry slowed his frantic pace only enough to grab his wand, but the change in speed tripped him up and he bit back a cry as he fell. He dropped flat, without trying to catch himself; better to bruise his nose than break his wand. Pain seared his knees and his shoulder, but he ignored that, too, rolling back to his feet and into his run.

But the guards must have heard the noise of his fall. They stopped in the shadows of the trees, all three eerie masked faces turning to face him. Harry was more surprised when they _waited _for him. He pounded to a stop just a few feet away and bent over in a vain attempt to catch his breath. Hermione and Ron caught up a moment later, equally winded. At least they weren't bleeding. Hermione took one look at Harry's ripped jeans and whipped out her wand. "Oh, _Harry_—"

Hinata cut her off. "Why are you here?" Her voice was harsher than Harry had ever heard it. "Go back now."

He shook his head and stood straight, fighting past the searing stitch in his side. "No," he panted. "We're gonna help."

Even without seeing her face, he could hear the frown in her voice. "You cannot."

"We _can,_" Harry insisted. He glanced appealingly at the other two guards. Naruto stood with his arms folded, head tipped back as if he were content to watch the show. Neji stood stiffly straight, hands fisted at his sides. He was sweating, and the cords in his neck stood out as if he'd clenched his jaw against pain. Harry winced with guilt. But if Neji was here, that meant he was healed, and now wasn't the time for regrets. Harry'd been in enough battles to know that.

And he was very sure now that there was a battle on the way.

"Go back to castle," Neji said, quietly. His voice was raw but strong. Harry forced an equal strength into his own voice.

"No."

Ron set a hand on Harry's shoulder as Hermione stepped up to stand squarely at his other side. "We're not going anywhere," Ron insisted. "We want to see the school safe even more than you do. We can _help._"

Neji took a sharp step forward. Hinata reached for him, but Naruto's sudden movement caught her attention. He leapt straight up, cloak flaring around him. Steel clashed, and three knives spun off into the undergrowth, deflected by Naruto's own. "Three!" he snarled, landing crouched in the overhanging boughs of an tree. "Two _mahoutsukai_. Neji—"

The two guards were already moving. As brilliant red light jetted between the trees, Neji dodged sideways and then sprinted forward towards the two hooded, black-robed men emerging from the darkness. Hinata stepped sideways, in front of the three students. She raised her empty hands and settled into what even a wizard could recognize as a fighting stance.

Her hands were _glowing._

And she was trying to protect them from something she couldn't understand. "Those are Death Eaters!" Harry yelled to her as he drew his wand. "Wizards!" Whoever the guards were, whatever their magic was, they weren't invulnerable to wizard's curses. Malfoy's blinding hex had proven that. And if these guards couldn't even defend themselves against a student, they'd be badly disadvantaged against experienced Death Eaters.

Harry and his friends would have to protect them, in return.

One of the Death Eaters had peeled off to engage with Neji; the other charged straight for Hinata and the students. Harry fired a jinx at him, and missed, but the light from the spell illuminated the dark woods enough for him to see the third figure sprinting towards them. He'd barely opened his mouth to yell a warning before Naruto was there, golden hair blazing in the dying light of Harry's spell.

"_SASUKE!_"

Harry had no time to watch. The second Death Eater retaliated with a flash of red light, and Hermione countered with another hex. Hinata sprinted forward, bent low as she ran; she dodged one of the Death Eater's spells, and was thrown into a tree by the next. An almost casual flick of the Death Eater's wand deflected Ron's jinx. Harry shot blue fire at him, and then all three of them dove for shelter as the Death Eater conjured a shield to reflect it.

Harry had long ago learned not to let other noises interfere with his own battles—he'd had enough to get the practice. But he couldn't ignore the yell from behind him, another clang of metal on metal, and a loud sound like a balloon popping. The Death Eater faltered for a moment, laughed, and then raised his wand. "_Ava—_"

The words of the curse choked into a bloody cough, and the wand dropped from his hand. His body followed it a moment later.

Hinata stood behind him, both hands still glowing. "You are not hurt?" she asked Harry his friends anxiously.

Harry shook his head, shocked into silence. But it would take more than that to stifle Hermione's questions . "What did you _do_?" she demanded.

"_Jyuuken,_" Hinata said. "My family technique." She mimed a palm-thrust up against an invisible man's back. "No one can shield his insides. Now _go!_" She spun, whipping around the trunk of a twisted oak tree, and sprinted towards the sounds of fighting. Harry, Ron, and Hermione shared one glance, and followed.

They nearly stumbled over the other Death Eater on the way. There was a knife in his throat. Harry tried not to see it, or to think of his own opponent vomiting up blood as Hinata—did whatever she'd done. He gripped his wand tightly in his fist and focused on the battle before him.

Naruto was gone. Neji had engaged his opponent, a slim, dark-haired man clad in tight-fitting clothes that bore no resemblance to a Death Eater's robes. The enemy was using knives like the ones Naruto had deflected—identical to the throwing knives the guards used. Neji was bare-handed, and beginning to falter. Hinata dashed towards him, dodging a spray of metal stars as Neji's opponent noticed her arrival. The man's pale face creased in a faint sneer. Harry caught his breath. Were those eyes _red?_

He had to help. Neji was obviously not fully recovered from the effects of Malfoy's curse, and this man was clearly better than the invaders Naruto had faced; Hinata might not be able to handle him on her own. Harry wrapped sweaty fingers around his wand and narrowed his eyes, trying to at least _follow _the fight. Even with Neji beginning to slow, their movements were still almost too fast to follow.

And then Neji was staggering back, one arm limp at his side, the other hand pressed to his head. Hinata thrust herself between him and the enemy, and Harry saw his chance.

"_Expelliarmus!_" he bellowed, dashing with Ron and Hermione at his back. The jet of light from the spell splintered uselessly against the bole of a tree as the dark-haired man jumped out of the way. Hinata seized his moment of distraction to attack from the side, her hands moving too fast for Harry to follow. But the enemy blocked her attacks, moving as fluidly as she did. "Help Neji!" Harry panted to Ron and Hermione. "I'll try—"

"Harry, no!" Hermione protested.

"Don't be a bloody fool," Ron warned him. "C'mon, Hermione." He grabbed her arm; she glared furiously at him until he let go, and then both of them ran to Neji's aid. He was trying to bind his useless left arm to his side; Harry could hear Hermione chiding him even before she reached him.

His friends could take care of Neji, get him out of the fight and into safety, before they returned to back Harry up. Harry himself crouched low in the bracken and watched the flurry of movement that was Hinata and her opponent break apart. Hinata landed, panting, on the ground; the dark-haired man hit a tree branch and rebounded, throwing a shower of knives down towards her. Without even leaving her crouch, Hinata spun on one heel. Blue energy hazed around her in the same kind of spinning shield Neji had used when he'd deflected Crabbe's jinxed rocks and failed to block Harry and Malfoy's hexes. This time, the knives spun away. Harry ducked low as they whistled through the air over his head. A spell formed on his lips, but the enemy was behind the cover of Hinata's energy-shield now; Harry couldn't hit him without hitting _her. _He edged sideways, trying to gain a clear shot—

And Neji tore away from Ron and Hermione and charged forward, loose hair flying behind him. The other man barely jumped out of the way in time, and Harry took his chance. He leapt from his crouch and threw a binding jinx. The enemy dodged—far more easily than he'd evaded Neji's attack. How did these people move faster than _spells_?

One of the man's hands snapped out; a knife sliced through the air towards Harry. He dropped, rolled, and came up again to find the man was ignoring him again in favor of Neji and Hinata, presumably the bigger threat. He hadn't even noticed Ron and Hermione spreading out to catch him in the center of their triangle, or hadn't considered them worthy of his attention. Harry caught his friends' eyes, and held his free hand up.

_One, two…_

The crackling, chirping sound, like a thousand birds taking frightened flight, was the first thing he noticed. Then the light, sputtering silver-blue. It looked like lightning, cradled in the man's hand. He lunged forward, drawing a sword from a sheath over his back as he sprinted towards the guards.

"_Protego!_" Hermione's charm reached the guards half a heartbeat before the handful of lightning did. Sparks flew everywhere; wet leaves smoldered and smoked. The enemy stumbled back, the lightning dissipating from around his hands, and the shield still stood. It wouldn't hold for long, though. The strain already showed on Hermione's face; her wand trembled as she tried to hold it steady. Ron and Harry both raised their own wands.

The spell choked in Harry's throat as an ear-shredding roar ripped through the forest. The ground shook; trees swayed violently, and some snapped. Harry fell hard, hitting his shoulder with enough force to numb his arm. His mouth tasted of blood; he'd bitten through his lip. He spat onto the wet leaves and pushed himself to his knees, switching his wand to the other hand. Ron was clambering to his feet again; Hermione had fallen to her knees, too, but her shield still held. Light splintered against the charm as the enemy attacked again with both sword and hand-held lightning, and Hermione swayed and cried out. "_Harry!_"

Harry pushed himself up faster than he'd ever thought possible. "_Expelliarmus!_" he bellowed, as Ron shouted, "_Stupefy!_"

This time, both spells hit their target. The sword flashed through the air, bounced off the edge of Hermione's shield, and embedded itself in the trunk of a fallen tree. The dark-haired man dropped bonelessly to the ground, and Ron cast a Full-Body Bind on him before he could move.

Suddenly, it seemed very still.

Hermione released the _protego _shield and rose slowly, painfully, to her feet. Ron was there to catch her before she fell again; he steadied her against his shoulder, and motioned Harry toward the fallen enemy. He joined the two guards just out of the downed man's range. Hinata looked at him for a thoughtful moment before inclining her head in an almost-bow; Neji ignored him in favor of glaring down at the motionless body. "Uchiha," he hissed. It sounded like a name; Neji spoke it like a swear word. The guards began a low, urgent discussion in their own tongue, obviously discussing the man on the ground.

Harry glanced back toward Ron and Hermione, who were limping slowly toward him. Both of Hermione's knees were bloody; Ron was gripping his wrist in a way that meant yes, it hurt very much, and no, he didn't want to discuss it. "What're we gonna do?" he asked softly, as they drew closer to Harry. "We can't wait around here with this guy."

"We can't exactly take him with us," Hermione pointed out. She was still breathing heavily, and hissing a little with pain.

"Well, we can't just leave him here, either," Ron frowned. "My Full-Body Bind doesn't last _that _long. And I only hit him with one _Stupefy_; who knows when he's gonna wake up?"

"Honestly, Ron." Even frazzled, bloody, and biting her lip against the pain, Hermione still had the ability to make the tall Weasley flush in embarrassment. "All we have to do is—_No!_"

Neji stood above the unconscious man, a knife in his hand. Hinata was talking quickly, too fast for Harry even pretend he had any idea what she was saying, but he could take a guess as to what she meant.

"You can't kill him!"

The falcon-masked guard didn't even bother to look up at Harry's cry, just knelt and held the knife to the downed man's throat. Harry pointed his wand at Neji in turn, and Ron and Hermione echoed him. "Don't kill him!" Harry ordered again. "He's a _prisoner!_"

The tilt of Neji's head said quite plainly that he didn't see Harry's point. But Hinata took over, touching his shoulder gently as she spoke again, very quickly. She gestured to the man on the ground and then to the trio beside her. Neji said something, short and angry. Hinata's voice sharpened.

And then the roar shook the forest again, louder than before, like an avalanche of agony in Harry's ears. The ground trembled, and more trees swayed and came crashing down. The rising wind caught up a whirl of fallen leaves and tore at Neji's long, loose hair. He said something in a low, tight voice, and stood up, sliding the knife back into a pouch strapped to his leg.

"We must hurry," Hinata said in English. She glanced down at the unconscious man—Uchiha, Harry reminded himself, if that was the man's name. "What do you do to him?"

"A Full-Body Bind," Ron said. "It should last a while. I'm not sure how long."

"We will save him for question," she said, and glanced around. The wind was still rising; it blew Hermione's tangled hair out like a banner. "But we have not much time."

"Sticking Charm!" Hermione exclaimed. "If we use a Sticking Charm to pin him to something, he won't be able to get away even after the stun and the Body Bind fade." She chewed her lip again, glancing nervously around. "Although if any more trees fall—"

Neji bent down and grabbed Uchiha by the collar, one-handed. The muscles strained in his bare arm, but he hoisted the limp body up without a murmur of complaint. "Where?"

"Um. There." Hermione pointed to a fallen tree so massive that Hagrid could have stood on one side of the enormous trunk and not have been able to see over the top. "We can stick him to that tree. And cover him with the Invisibility Cloak, in case…anyone else comes looking." She glanced back into the darkness, in the direction of the fallen Death Eaters, and shivered.

It only took a few minutes to get everything set, and everyone backed away as Harry tossed the Invisibility Cloak over the limp Uchiha. That too he Stuck to the tree, and once they were sure they would know where exactly to find their prisoner later, they set off towards the eye of the storm.


End file.
